


Abigail Vanders and the Unchanging Wand

by Bob_Lobbington



Series: Abigail Vanders [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gambling, Garrick Ollivander - Freeform, Gen, Hogwarts, Morally Ambiguous Character, Mystery, Original Character(s), Post-War, Quidditch, Wand lore, Wands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-07
Updated: 2017-12-07
Packaged: 2019-02-11 21:57:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 36,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12944823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bob_Lobbington/pseuds/Bob_Lobbington
Summary: The year is 2009 and eleven years have passed since Voldemort's fall. A young girl sits in Ollivander's awaiting the wand that will choose her, not knowing the strange and mysterious future that awaits. With her first year at Hogwarts quickly approaching, Abigail Vanders finds herself paired with a strange wand of unknown origin and great power. Curious and intelligent by nature, Abigail makes it her mission to discover the origin of her wand, and unravel the strange secrets of the wizarding world along the way.





	Abigail Vanders and the Unchanging Wand

**Chapter 1**

**The Wand**

 

            There is a curious place that was built during Voldemort’s reign known just as Waning Crescent. It was built to help those that desired or needed a place to be hidden. Even though the Dark Lord was gone, Death Eaters escaped and corrupt individuals bluffed their way to safety. Families fearing extremists in the wake of the War found their homes on the mysterious street with the help of a mysterious wizard. Known by many aliases, he apparently crafted the entire bizarre street in a manner similar to Diagon Alley, but with the addition of dozens, if not hundreds, of hidden homes all along the ever expanding street.

            There is, however, one place on Waning Crescent not hidden in any way. Should someone happen upon the entrance to the street, they would be met only by a short, lamp lit street with a single shop bearing the name “Oddsmen’s Curiosities.”

            A place not unlike Borgin and Burke’s, Oddsmen’s is a small, if not a tad dubious, magical pawn shop. In the wake of the Second Wizarding War, many people suddenly had a large amount of dark objects to get rid of, and a place to get rid of them secretly was in high demand. The Ministry of Magic is less than fond of this shop.

            It was a sunny July morning that Claudius Oddsmen was walking among the shelves in his store, cleaning with his wand. He was a tall, skinny man dressed in a long black robe with many pockets. He had jet black hair with wisps of grey scattered throughout and bright green eyes. He had a gaunt, angular face with early signs of age starting to show. His wand was pale brown and glowed with a faint white light as he cleaned.

            “Hi, Oddball!”

            Claudius jumped slightly and a jet of light shot from his wand, striking a tiny jade Buddha statue and causing the entire shelf to burst into flames. He jumped back and flicked his wand towards the flames. Water sprayed from his wand and the fires quickly went out. There was a slight smoky smell in the room as he turned around. He turned to the door to see an all too familiar face.

            She was young, having just turned eleven a few months prior. She had long, dark brown hair and a playful, yet slightly unnerving smile. She had large grey eyes and cute features. She was dressed in a new robe and had just burst into the door with a big smile and a look of wonder in her eye.

            Claudius smiled. “Good morning, Abby.”

            Abby ran up to him and looked up at the statue. “Morning. You’re a bit jumpy aren’t you?”

            “Ministry is cracking down hard on dark objects. I can’t be expected to know the traits of everything I buy,” he mused. “So why, may I ask, are you bursting into my store on such a nice day?”

            “Dad’s taking me to buy a wand today!” Abby declared with a wide smile. “We’re going to Diagon Alley when he’s done with his paperwork.”

            Claudius chuckled. “How’s he like working for Granger?”

            “He says she’s ‘ _difficult’_ ,” Abby replied, miming quotes.

            “She’s been in here a few times. She told me that I can’t buy items from Death Eaters.”

            “Why would you?”

            “Because I don’t ask questions about what I buy or who I buy it from,” Claudius walked over to the desk at the far side of the room and began twirling his wand in his hand. “Hey! _Accio_!”

            The obsidian knife Abby had picked up soared from her hand and into Claudius’. Abby frowned. “Dad says you shouldn’t mess with this stuff so much.”

            “ _I_ don’t. The people I sell _to_ mess with it. I’m not stupid,” he smiled. “So, given any more thought about what House you want to be in?”

            “Well, mom was in Ravenclaw. She would have wanted me to follow in her footsteps I think. And dad was in Horned Serpent in Ilvermorny which was supposedly inspired by Ravenclaw.”

            “Is the story about the puckwudgie true?” Claudius asked pointedly, gesturing with his wand.

            “The what?” Abby tilted her head.

            “The little goblin creature that brings flowers to that grave every year. I heard it a few days ago from an American wizard that came through. Found it touching.”

            “He never mentioned,” Abby shrugged and continued to browse the shop. Before long a man strode into the shop. He had the same dark brown hair as Abby, cut short and professional, and the same grey eyes. He was an averagely built man, standing a little shorter than Claudius and showing signs of middle aged weight gain. He wore clean ministry robes and was slightly pale. He looked exhausted. Abby turned and smiled. “Hi dad.”

            The man smiled but breathed a heavy sigh. “Hi Abigail. Claudius.” He nodded to Claudius.

            “Oddball almost burned his store down,” Abby said gleefully as she walked to her father’s side.

            Abby’s father raised an eyebrow. “What happened this time?”

            “Abby helped me to discover a nifty little curse on that Buddha,” Claudius rolled his eyes. “Wizards never cease to astound me with their creative stupidity.”

            “Mrs. Granger asked that I speak to you about your business practices.”

            Claudius laughed. “ _No way_ ,” he said with another long roll of his eyes. Abby giggled. “Just tell her I’m considering altering my practices. Honestly, it’s been more than a decade since the War ended and I think the darkest stuff is long gone. You should have seen the stuff I bought in the first year.” He leaned in close. “I even got my hands on a whole _jar_ of unicorn blood.”

            Abby’s eyes widened. “What’s that used for?”

            Abby’s father glared down at her then sighed and shook his head. “Why are you telling us this?”

            “Because it’s fun to watch you squirm, Noah.”

            “Come on, Abby, we’re leaving. Claudius, please stop causing problems for me, and stop being a bad influence. If you’re going to be Abby’s godfather I need you to avoid getting arrested.”

            Claudius leaned back in his chair. “Abby, are you going to hold it against me if I get arrested?”

            “No Oddball, only if you get convicted.”

            “That’s my girl,” Claudius grinned. “Go get yourself a great wand.”

 

***

            Abby stumbled slightly as her father and her apparated into the Leaky Cauldron. Excited beyond words she paid no attention to anyone or anything until her and her father reached Ollivander’s wand shop. The shop stood as it had been for years with the slight addition of a small plaque in the window thanking Harry Potter for his daring rescue of Garrick Ollivander in 1998.

            The two walked into the dusty, dimly lit shop and were met by the sight of a girl roughly the same age as Abby trying out wands. Ollivander walked up and down the racks, examining various wand boxes while the girl waited impatiently. She turned to Abby as soon she heard he door open.

            “ _Hi_ , sorry, he’s still trying to find the right fit,” she said sweetly. As she did, Ollivander walked up behind her with a box and tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around and saw a wand of deep red-brown.

            “Cherry, dragon heartstring. Fourteen inches, nice and flexible,” Ollivander said airily. He didn’t look particularly fond of the girl he handed the wand to.

            The girl took the wand and immediately a wave of power seemed to wash over the room. She looked down at the wand dreamily.

            Ollivander smiled. “It’s rare that someone finds a match with a wand like that one. I hope it serves you well. That will be seven Galleons.” The girl happily handed Ollivander some coins and ran out of the room. Once she had closed the door, he turned to Abby and her father. “Good morning to you two. First year?”

            Abby nodded gleefully.

            “Well, come over here and let’s see what we can find for you.” Ollivander led Abby to where the girl before her had stood and took her arm measurements. Her father stood awkwardly near the entrance to the store watching in silence. Abby opened her mouth to speak but Ollivander held up his hand and passed her a wand. “Maple, eleven inches, with a dragon heartstring core.”

            Abby took the wand and swished it through the air. There was an aggressive disharmony in the room immediately that made everyone uncomfortable. Ollivander quickly snatched the wand back and went back to searching.

            He handed her a new wand. “Apple, thirteen inches, and a unicorn tail hair core. Nice and springy.” Abby took the wand and instantly an uncomfortable feeling spread over her hand. It was like a cold flame had wrapped around her skin, and ultimately she dropped the wand awkwardly. Ollivander stroked his chin curiously. He instantly rushed into the back and started pulling out boxes to try. Abby tried four more wands before he handed her, “Beech, fourteen and a half inches, phoenix feather core and very flexible.”

            She took the wand silently once more, but this time it was even worse. The room was filled with a strange feeling and she ultimately shivered and dropped the wand.

            Ollivander frowned and her father awkwardly walked over. “Are you feeling okay, Abby?” he asked gently.

            Ollivander looked around uncomfortably. “I’m sorry; it’s rare for someone to react so oddly to the wands. Let me try some more unusual choices.” He walked into the back of the store and returned with a thin box. “Try this. Hawthorn, twelve inches, and a dragon heartstring core.”

            Abby took the wand and almost instantly it flipped out of her hand and landed back in the box. Everyone fell into uncomfortable silence.

            Ollivander continued his efforts trying another twenty wands before finally removing a very dusty box from the very back of the store. “Elder, ten and a half inches, with a phoenix feather core. Pliable yet not too much so.” He handed the wand hesitantly to Abby only to see no result whatsoever.

            “Is there something wrong, Mr Ollivander?” Abby asked uncomfortably.

            He cleared his throat and shuffled back into the shelves. “I’ve had many difficult cases. Not everyone can have a wand pick them quickly. Harry Potter himself went through more than you have.” He went and found another dusty box. “Let’s try this. Yew, ten inches, dragon heartstring core.”

            “Wasn’t _his_ wand…?” Noah began.

            “Yes, the Dark Lord’s wand was made from yew. It is important to not associate superstitions with wand woods and cores though. The magical properties of such materials are completely amoral. The wand chooses the witch or wizard, but the owner also learns from the wand.” He handed the wand to Abby. Nothing happened for a moment, but then a horrible feeling washed over all three of them. Ollivander quickly snatched the wand away. “ _That_ , however, is not a good sign.”

            For half an hour Abby tried wands. Everything felt wrong and nothing seemed to fit. With every failed attempt Abby began to feel a little more disheartened. By the time Ollivander was digging through the farthest cupboards of his store, Abby’s father took her by the arm.

            “I think perhaps it’s time to take a break,” he said coolly.

            Ollivander looked completely defeated. “But…”

            He shook his head. “Come on, Abigail, we’re going. Garrick, we’ll be back in a few days to see if you’ve found something that will work.”

            Before Ollivander could say anything they were gone.

           

***

 

            Abby sat back on a chair in her home’s kitchen. Noah quietly cooked by hand with his wand sitting on the countertop.

            “Hey dad, what’s going on between you and Mr Ollivander?” Abby asked suddenly.

            “What makes you think something’s going on?” he didn’t turn around to face her.

            “You called him Garrick,” Abby said simply. “You clearly know him to a degree.”

            Noah stopped working quickly and turned around. He looked away uncomfortably. “Well, our family and his are related.”

            “ _What_?”

            “There were some family issues two generations ago, and my father’s side ended up moving to America.”

            “How come you never told me?” Abby raised an eyebrow.

            “I don’t like to talk about it. I spent too much time hearing my father and his parents talk about it. My father always called Garrick a fool for selling Voldemort’s wand knowing the power of such a wand. Yew is notorious for powers of life and death, and my family always believed in keeping certain powers away from people by controlling what wands are made from. I know Garrick has a strong belief in the opposite and I don’t know how much those deep family wounds matter to him.”

            “Do you really think he’s playing something like that up? He was tortured for more than a year by Voldemort himself and you think he’s going to care about petty family troubles from generations ago?”

            Noah chuckled. “You really are your mother’s daughter.”

            “If he’s as good as everyone says then he’ll figure something out,” Abby said with a somewhat hesitant smile. “We’ll go back in a few days and it’ll be fine.”

            “I’m sorry we couldn’t get you a wand today.”

            “It’s not your fault,” Abby stood up. “I’m not hungry. Is it okay if I go for a walk?”

            “Sure, just don’t leave the Crescent.”

 

***

 

            A small bell chimed as Abby walked into Oddsmen’s. Claudius eyed her as she walked across the store.

            “You’re looking oddly glum,” he said casually. “Did you get some boring wand you don’t like?”

            “I didn’t get a wand at all,” she replied quietly, instantly turning and looking at various things on the shelves.

            “Ollivander couldn’t find a wand for you?”

            “We tried nearly a hundred different wands. Everything felt wrong.”

            Claudius raised an eyebrow and stood up. He walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, let me show you something.”

            Abby looked up with sad eyes but said nothing. She followed Claudius across the store to a tiny glass cabinet with multiple small trinkets within. Among them was a strange, pale, sand coloured wand with a slightly notched handle. Claudius opened the case with his wand and picked up the wand.

            “I had this sold to me three weeks after the Dark Lord fell,” he said as he brandished the wand. Without hesitation, he spun around and struck it against the top of the cabinet. It collided with a dull thud and no flex whatsoever. “Completely petrified, made from beech wood, ten and a half inches.”

            “What’s the core?” Abby asked knowingly.

            “No clue. I’ve been trying to figure that out for nearly ten years,” Claudius said as she held the wand for Abby to take. “Give it a try.”

            Abby quickly snatched the wand and felt something unlike anything she’d ever felt before. It was like the cold flame that had pushed away the other wands had grown around her with unquestionable power. A pale silver flame flickered from the end of the wand as her eyes widened. “Does this mean?”

            Claudius walked back to his desk and sat down. “It means you should take it to Ollivander tomorrow. I know very little about wandlore. Honestly, if Potter didn’t speak to Ollivander’s knowledge and skill I’d probably think he was a bit full of himself.”

            “Can I keep this?” Abby asked, barely containing her happiness.

            “Sure kid. Consider it a late birthday present.”

 

 

 

**Chapter 2**

**Mother’s Wishes**

 

            Ollivander watched as Abby waved her new wand around. Showers of diamond sparks and white-silver flames scattered around the room. Claudius scratched his chin as he watched and Noah tapped his foot nervously.

            “May I see that wand?” Ollivander asked patiently.

            Abby smiled and handed him her wand with a nod.

            Ollivander looked it over carefully. He set it down and tapped it with his own wand. After nothing happened, he took Abby’s wand and waved it. Again, nothing happened. “And you have no idea what the core of this wand is?”

            “Oddball said he had no idea.” Abby leaned close and whispered with no subtlety: “I think a Death Eater sold it to him.”

            Noah rolled his eyes. “I can _hear_ you, Abby.”

            “ _Daaaaaaad_.”

            Ollivander cleared his throat. “It’s very odd. I’ve never seen a wand like this and I’ve looked into a lot of different wand core choices. I unfortunately don’t know what it is.”

            “What if it’s dangerous?” Noah insisted.

            Ollivander scratched his chin. “As I said yesterday, I don’t think any core is inherently ‘evil’ or ‘dangerous.’ In this case it seems that the core is revealing a generally positive and unusually powerful ability. I do ask that Abigail keeps in contact with me about the nature of her wand as she comes to learn from it. This could be something unique. The most pressing matter is that the wand itself seems to be petrified. A wand’s flexibility is related to its willingness to adapt to its bearer, and in this case it seems it holds no regard for Abby’s personality and habits.”

            Abby looked between her father and Ollivander. She couldn’t truly understand the weight of that statement. She was happy about one thing though. “So I can keep the wand?” she asked.

            “Yes, you can keep it,” Noah said calmly. “Be careful though.”

            “Of course I will! Can we go get my spellbooks for my first year now!?”

            Claudius smiled. “If it were me, I’d let her at least practice some basic spells before school starts.”

            Ollivander thought for a moment before nodding. “As much as I don’t like to advise things like that, in this case I think Claudius is right. It would be a good idea to have Abby learn a bit of magic before attending school. This way you can tell me if anything bad happens in a safer environment.”

            Noah glared at his daughter’s godfather. “Fine, we’ll get your books and you can do some practice. _That said_ , you are not allowed to do magic if I’m not watching. So help you if I get a letter from the Ministry.”

 

***

 

            With a bag full of books, Abby and Noah sat outside Florean Fortescue's Memorial Ice Cream Parlour in the July sun. All around them kids with their parents rushed around buying things for their upcoming year at Hogwarts.

            “Abby, listen,” Noah began. “When your mother and I moved back to Britain it was because we wanted to help rebuild this country after the war ended. I know you were young when she died but she wanted you to attend Hogwarts above all else. She always had a flair for the dramatic and always tended to delve a bit too deep into her curiosities. I want you to be careful though. Both your mother and I have always been knowledge seekers and there’s always going to be risks in such things. You’ve been dealt a strange hand with a wand like that and I want you to be careful in trying to understand it.”

            Abby took a large bite out of her ice cream cone and thought about what her father said. Finally she replied: “Of course I’ll be careful.”

            Noah sighed. “Are you actually going to be careful?”

            Abby thought for a moment and took another bite of her ice cream. “Ummmm… maybe?”

            “Abigail Vanders, you can’t just assume everything is safe. You’re far too used to being around people like Claudius.”

            “But Oddball is careful.”

            “He lit several shelves on fire _yesterday_.”

            “That was _my_ fault though,” Abby protested. “I’m going to be careful. I want to _learn_ when I go to school.”

            “As do many kids that go to that school. Ultimately they’re tempted by the secrets and the mysteries and end up getting in over their heads. Hogwarts is an ancient and very magical place and as such it’s dangerous in ways you may not expect.” Noah rubbed his eyes. “I don’t want to have to worry about losing you.”

            Abby smiled brightly. “Don’t worry, dad. If anything I’m probably more prepared than most first years.”

            “Yes, you likely are. Have you been giving much thought to what House you want to be in?”

            Abby thought for a few seconds. “Not really, but I like Ravenclaw cause of you and mom. I also like Gryffindor because of the history and fame. That said I wouldn’t be against Slytherin. I’m going to read Hogwarts a History and then make a choice when I know more.”

            “Good to see you have an open mind. What about Hufflepuff?”

            Abby laughed. “I am _so_ not going to be in a house like that.”

            “What’s wrong with them?”

            “They’re so _boring_. I read about them and I don’t have any interest.” Abby continued to eat her ice cream.

            “Just remember that I’ll be proud of you regardless.”

            Abby raised an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t you be?”

            Noah hesitated. “I…”

            “Dad, relax. Let’s go get the rest of my supplies and head home.”

 

***

 

            Abby stayed up reading that night. She kept reading almost constantly through August. Something had sparked inside her when Ollivander didn’t have the answer. She had to know what the mysteries of this wand were. By the time August 31st rolled around, Abby had read the ‘Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1’ cover to cover. She had delved deeply into ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ but found nothing that would make sense as her wand’s core’s origin. She had even begun to take in some of ‘A History of Magic’ though she found the content a touch dry.

            When she heard her dad calling from the kitchen she awoke to the realization that A History of Magic was laying open on her forehead. She groaned and pushed it aside eyeing the books around her. ‘Magical Drafts and Potions’ was sitting dog-eared beyond recognition on her bedside table while ‘Magical Theory’ was tucked neatly to the side, long since skimmed over many times.

            By the time she finally reached the dining room her father had already set out plates of toast and eggs. He was already well into his meal while reading The Daily Prophet. He looked up and smiled warmly at Abby’s tired eyes.

            “Feeling a little tired?” he asked as she sat down.

            “There’s no time for sleep, dad. These books are so interesting. Why didn’t you buy me these sooner!?”

            He chuckled. “Because I knew you’d get like this. Magic is complex and difficult and requires practice as well as knowledge. Just knowing something doesn’t make you capable of it. You’ve only got your hands on first year books. If you prove yourself trustworthy I’ll buy you something interesting for Christmas, okay?”

            “ _Fiiiine_ ,” she said dejectedly, biting down on her toast.

            “And no more reading for the rest of the summer,” he added with a wink.

            “But that’s…” Abby looked at the clock. “Twenty-two and a half hours!” she declared dramatically. “I guess I’ll try to restrain myself. After all, tomorrow’s a big day,” she added happily.

            “I always knew you’d grow up fast, but somehow you’ve always exceeded my expectations,” Noah said with a sad smile. “Don’t focus so hard on school that you forget to be a kid, okay? Hogwarts is a place of fun and camaraderie just as much as it is a place of learning.”

            “But I _like_ learning.”

            “Well too bad. I’ll be writing to check on all your exploits and I better hear about some wacky misadventures.”

            “But I don’t wanna.”

            Noah sat back in his chair and eyed his daughter. Then, he remembered. “Hey, remember what Ollivander said about your wand?”

            “That he didn’t know what kind of core it is? Yeah, I know, it’s been the purpose of my life for the last month,” she retorted with a sarcastic eye-roll.

            “Not that, genius, I mean the fact that the wand is petrified. You have to learn from _it_ , it will not learn from _you_. Don’t bury yourself in books; follow the path you find yourself on.”

            Abby thought about this while finishing a mouthful of egg. “I _guess_ I’ll try.”

            “That’s my girl. I’m heading to work. No magic while I’m gone and no reading. Go see if Oddball needs your help.”

            “Okay!”

 

 

 

 

**Chapter 3**

**Oddball’s Promise**

 

            Abby walked into Oddsmen’s a few minutes later, finding Claudius speaking to a rather odd looking man in a hooded robe. The man was clearly showing something off, but was also trying to keep it mostly hidden.

            “Not interested,” Claudius said with a dismissive tone and a wave of his hand.

            “This relic has been in my family for generations. It holds powerful and mysterious magic!”

            “And you want fifty galleons for that?”

            “I should be asking for more!”

            Claudius looked over at Abby and winked. “I’ll give you fifteen galleons and five galleons store credit,” he said so plainly that the man lost his composure.

            “That’s an-!”

            “Take it or leave it, my goddaughter just got here.”

            After a few seconds of silence the man set a small marble statue on the desk. “Fine,” he grumbled.

            Claudius handed him a small bag of coins and leaned back in his chair.

            “You’re good at that!” Abby said watching the cloaked man leave.

            “To be fair, that was mostly an instance of him being terrible at bartering.” Claudius stood up, took the statue, and placed it on one of the shelves. “And good morning to you too, kiddo.”

            “Got anything fun to do today?”

            “I’ve got some interesting books if I can pull you away from your school books for five minutes.”

            “No, _dad_ banned me from reading anymore till school starts.”

            “What about magic?”

            “He lets me do some basic spells but only when he’s around.”

            “Well _he’s_ not around. Want me to show you a fun spell that might do you some good?”

            Abby’s eyes widened with excitement. “Really!?”

            “Yeah, it’s a bit advanced and requires some power but the concept is simple enough that I think even a first year could do it in theory. Especially you. This will also be an interesting test of your wand. It’s a shield charm. I doubt you’ll be able to conjure a complete version but it could still help ward off any kid that tries to push you around.”

            Abby whipped out her wand. “How do I do it!?” she demanded.

            “First of all, we are not training in here. We’ll practice in the back room. Let me just close up shop.”

            Claudius flipped the sign and locked the door with his wand. Abby ran into the back room of the store to find a wide open room with shelves on one side and a large writing desk along the other. Abby ran to the far side of the room and stood ready.

            Claudius chuckled. “Now, a shield charm can be used in many ways, but we’ll focus on defending against unfriendly magic. I’m not going to be firing spells at you but we should be able to cast the charm without a threat.”

            Abby nodded enthusiastically.

            “Now, repeat after me, _protego_.”

            “ _Protego!_ ” Abby thrust her wand forward and what felt like a sudden punch to the chest knocked her to the ground with a pulse of greyish light.

            Claudius gasped and ran over. She was a little stunned but otherwise fine. “You’ve got a bit of power don’t you?”

            Abby stood back up and looked at her wand. “Maybe? Did I do the spell wrong?”

            “You just yelled a word and thrust your wand forward with the vague idea of a shield. That is not how you do magic. Focus your mind.” Claudius retook his position and drew his wand. He took a deep breath. “ _Protego_.” A translucent silver shield appeared before him then slowly faded away. “Now try.”

            Abby took a deep breath. “ _Protego_.” A few wisps of light shot from the tip of her wand, but nothing else happed.

            “Don’t worry, we’ve got all day,” said Claudius reassuringly. “You’ll have it learned in no time.”

            Sure enough he was right. It took nearly four hours but Abby finally created a thin, flickering shield with the charm. She was ecstatic and could barely contain her joy.

            Claudius laughed as he watched her cast the spell over and over. “I kind of hope someone tries to use magic on you, it’ll be really amusing. That spell should block and reflect anything a first or second year could throw at you. Please don’t go starting fights though,” he added as an afterthought.

            “I won’t. I know why you wanted me to know this,” Abby said with a big smile and a nod.

            “Good, now how about we go tell Ollivander about your magic attempts in the last month then get some lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. Afterwards I can get you an owl before you leave for school tomorrow.”

            Abby gasped. “ _Really?_ But dad said I couldn’t have an owl till my third year.”

            “Well, he’ll have a hard time taking it back while he’s taking you to school tomorrow,” Claudius said with a wide grin. “Besides, you’ll want to write to both him and me I’m sure. And when you get home, you’ll want to write to your friends.”

            Abby beamed at him and the two left for Diagon Alley.

 

***

 

            Diagon Alley was absolutely flooded with people preparing for the start of term the following day. When Claudius and Abby walked into Ollivander’s, the noise was finally muffled and both of them could finally hear themselves think again.

            Ollivander turned and smiled when he saw Abby. “Welcome back, I was wondering when I’d get to see you again. I take it things have been well?”

            Abby nodded happily. “I could do a bunch of simple spells super easy!”

            “Really?” Ollivander looked puzzled. “Did you try anything else?”

            “Dad wanted me to stick to just basic spells. Oddball taught me some magic this morning though.”

            “Oh really?” Ollivander looked to Claudius who wore a hesitantly happy expression.

            He took a moment to think before drawing an even breath. “Yeah, I taught her to do a Shield Charm.”

            “ _What?_ ” Ollivander turned to Abby with wide eyes. “You performed a successful Shield Charm?”

            “Not fully,” Claudius said. “She did manage to conjure a weak shield that held its form though.”

            “That is still astounding. That wand must be able to draw more magic from the bearer’s potential. Though, that’s not to say that Abby isn’t equally remarkable to be able to produce such power to begin with. I can see why the two are paired. I’m honestly quite curious to know more about this wand.”

            Claudius nodded. “You already know everything I do.”

            “When you first brought it to me ten years ago I didn’t think you’d find a match for it. It seemed to me to be a failed experiment. I had assumed that the petrification had ruined the magical qualities of the wood. But it seems that isn’t the case and, from what you’ve told me about Abby, the wand wood certainly seems to match her personality. Regardless, this is something worth observing. If she finds spellwork this easy I do worry that she’ll grow overconfident and bored in school.”

            Abby shook her head. “I want to learn more about the other types of magic too. Especially potions!”

            “And she has lots of friends to make and other fun things to do,” Claudius said with a grin.

            “I guess,” Abby said with a shrug.

            “I won’t take any more of your time, I’m sure you have other business to take care of today,” Ollivander said warmly. “Come back any time to chat and keep me informed about the wand.”

 

***

 

            The two sat in the Leaky Cauldron watching the last minute shoppers scurrying through. The soup was warm, hearty, and delicious. Abby looked around the room and eventually settled on spying on the tavern keeper.

            “Why are you looking at Hannah?” Claudius asked, finishing his soup.

            Abby turned around. “She’s pretty. Wasn’t she a member of Dumbledore’s Army?”

            “Sure was. Her husband was too.”

            “ _Ohh_ , who’s she married to?”

            “Neville Longbottom. Great man, I’ve known him for a few years now.”

            Abby’s eyebrows rose as she finished her soup. Before she could ask anything, she looked over and saw Neville walking over to their table. She looked up and blushed a little.

            Neville smiled and looked over at Claudius. “Hello Claudius, taking little Abby for some last minute supplies?”

            “You told him about _me_?” Abby blushed more.

            Neville and Claudius laughed. Claudius gestured with his spoon. “I’m buying her an owl. Oh, and by the way, I’ve got my hands on those seeds you wanted.”

            “Oh, great! Something interesting for my sixth years to work on during the year,” he smiled warmly at Abby. “I’m starting this year as your new Herbology professor. Professor Sprout is finally retiring.”

            Claudius nodded. “Who’s going to be head of Hufflepuff? Surely not you, _Mister_ Sword of Gryffindor.”

            “No it’s not me,” he flushed red. “Professor McGonagall asked that I take a try at running Gryffindor now that they don’t have head. I believe Professor Astasia will be taking the role of Head of Hufflepuff.”

            “Good for you, Neville,” Claudius said with a proud grin.

            “Yeah, congratulations!” Abby squeaked.

            “I just hope that I can live up to Professor Sprout’s legacy. She already wrote me a bunch of useful tips for teaching!”

            “You always were a favourite of hers, even as an Auror,” Claudius mused.

            “And if she couldn’t find me what I needed, there was always you,” Neville said gratefully.

            “I aim to please.”

            “Well, I won’t take any more of your time. I have preparations for tomorrow to make. Have a great last day of summer, Abby.”

            Abby waved happily as he left their table. Once he was gone she turned around and beamed at her godfather. “ _He is so cool_. And he you’re his _friend!_ _And he knows my name!”_

            “I didn’t know you thought so highly of Neville. I would have introduced you years ago.”

            “What does he need your help for?”

            “Well, even as an Auror he used a lot of plants, but some things are hard to get. I know people, and I can get things in a timely manner.”

            “What _kind_ of things?”

            “The kind of things your father wants me to stop telling you about.”

            “But he’s no fun.”

            “Unfortunately, he’s still your father.” Claudius stood up. “Let’s go get you an owl. Maybe I’ll take you to Weasleys’ Wizards Wheezes too.”

            Abby shrugged. “I’ll pass on the joke shop. Will you buy me some more… _unusual_ potion supplies?”

            “How much of your potion books have you been reading?”

            “Less than I would like, but more than is probably healthy.”

            “We’ll see and it depends on what you want,” Claudius said with a raised eyebrow.

 

***

 

            In Eeylops Owl Emporium the two browsed the birds among the dust, feathers, and hooting.

            “Any thoughts on which you want?” Claudius asked loudly.

            “I think I want a scops owl. They’re cute and I only have you and dad to write to.”

            “Sure thing,” Claudius picked out a smaller cage with a tiny grey scops owl looking around the room calmly. It gave a lazy hoot and looked up at Claudius. “How ‘bout this one?”

            Abby walked over, looked over the owl then nodded happily. “She’ll be perfect.”

            “Any ideas for names?” Claudius asked as they walked to the check-out.

            “I’ll come up with something.” As she said this, a young girl burst through the front door and looked around excitedly. She had long, wavy blonde hair and wide blue eyes. She had a moderate skin tone and was dressed in robes like Abby’s. She immediately ran over to the owls and started looking them over. Not even ten seconds later she had run up to Abby and was looking her over.

            “Hi! I like your owl!” she said looking up at it.

            “Thank you,” Abby said, quite taken aback by the energetic girl.

            “Are you starting school tomorrow too?”

            “Um… yes?”

            She grinned widely. “I’ve never been so excited! It’s going to be so fun!” She looked up at Claudius. “Is this your dad?”

            “Godfather. Dad’s at work,” Abby said plainly.

            Claudius chuckled as Abby stumbled through the conversation. “What’s your name?”

            “Elizabeth,” she said with a nod. “Elizabeth Greengrass.”

            Claudius raised an eyebrow.

            “Oh, you know about my family… Don’t worry, I’m half-blood.”

            “I don’t judge people based on their family.”

            “Oh, thank goodness,” Elizabeth smiled brightly. “What’re your names?”

            “I’m Claudius.”

            “And I’m Abby,” Abby said with an awkward shift. “Shouldn’t we get going, Claudius?”

            Claudius looked down with hidden shock. “Oh, um, right. Sorry we can’t stay and talk, Elizabeth.”

            Once they stepped outside, Claudius apparated, bringing Abby along with him. When their feet touched the ground outside Waning Crescent, Claudius turned to Abby and frowned. “Abigail, that was rude.”

            “I didn’t want to deal with her anymore. She’s such a Hufflepuff.”

            “Don’t you speak so badly of that noble house. Hannah Abbott was in that house and she fought bravely. She was good enough for _Neville_.” He emphasized Neville’s name and smiled coyly.

            Abby shuffled her feet. “I just didn’t want to stay around talking awkwardly…”

            “I’m sure you remember but I don’t think you’ll realize it until you get to Hogwarts. Your wand will not bend to your personality, so you’ll need to learn to adapt and change. And once more, your wand is made from beech.”

            Abby looked up curiously but said nothing.

            “Beech, when used as a wand wood, is a sign of wisdom and experience. And beyond that it is a sign of open-mindedness. Someone like Elizabeth would be good for you to spend time around. Remember that when you go to school.”

            The two went into Oddsmen’s and Abby sat down behind Claudius’s desk. Claudius began to clean and dust.

            “You know, kiddo, there’s a lot in this world that’s worth experiencing and knowing. But it’s a big world out there and being alone is not the way to go. I know things with your dad made things tough, but now that you’re going to school you can finally spend some time with kids your own age. That said, there’s one more thing I want to talk about, and it’s why I bought you an owl.”

            “Oh?”

            “Well, I originally did my research into your wand when I obtained it, and people were a lot more tight-lipped around that time. It’s been quite a long time since the war ended and I might be able to dredge up some info on that wand. I have some theories about where it came from and I want to figure it out. If you’re interested, I’d like to keep in correspondence with you and solve this mystery.”

            Abby jumped out of her seat. “Of course!”

            “Then I’ll need you to do some research at the Hogwarts library for me and do some work yourself. I’ve got a list written down. Don’t talk to your dad too much about this because I’ll need to ask some questionable people.”

            “Understood,” Abby nodded and grinned.

            As Abigail fell asleep that night she wondered what the future might hold for her. In less than twenty-four hours she’d be sorted into her house and school would be starting. Her journey had begun.

 

 

 

**Chapter 4**

**The Hogwarts Express**

 

            Claudius and Abby’s father led her onto platform ten at King’s Cross Station with her trunk and owl, who she had named Dione. Abby looked around in stunned awe at the sheer commotion of the station.

            “How do they keep the muggles from noticing the massive number of people with owls and trunks on September first every year?” Abby asked, eyeing the other students.

            Her father looked around. “There are ministry wizards around trained in memory charms.”

            “Neat,” she replied looking around for ministry badges. Then she saw someone pass through the boundary between platforms nine and ten. She quickly broke into a run towards the barrier, but failed to take into account the other people. Almost immediately she crashed into another trolley and fell to the ground, falling into another kid.

            She rubbed her head as her father and Claudius ran over. She turned her head and saw, laying on his back, a boy about her age. He had short, dusty brown hair and light brown eyes. He was wearing Hogwarts robes. A young couple ran up and looked at the two kids and their trolleys. They were both quite attractive and well-dressed. They seemed to almost radiate an aura of wealth.

            “Are you okay?” Abby’s father asked calmly.

            Abby stood up. “Uh huh.” She dusted herself off while the boy was helped to his feet by Claudius.

            He turned to the boy’s parents and patted Abby awkwardly on the back. “Sorry about that. Abby gets a little ahead of herself.”

            They laughed as their son dusted himself off. “Don’t worry, Gabe’s partially at fault. He wasn’t looking where he was going,” Gabe’s mother said.

            The boy named Gabe looked at Abby awkwardly. “Sorry I hit you.”

            “Hogwarts?” Claudius asked with a smile.

            “First year, we’re so proud,” Gabe’s father said. “The letter certainly explained a lot about his childhood.” He laughed heartily.

            “Oh, you’re both muggles?” Noah asked curiously.

            “Yes, we were a little surprised. A lovely witch from your Ministry came and explained. She was quite patient.”

            Claudius nodded thoughtfully. “How do you feel about sending your son to such an illustrious school?”

            “Honestly we were both a little concerned when we learned about the… history of certain things. Finding out about a war we never knew happened was a little shocking.”

            “It was, unfortunately, an era of chaos. We live in calm times now and everything is safe at Hogwarts now,” Claudius said with a welcoming smile. “Come on, let’s go get our kids on the train. We can talk later.”

            The six all crossed the boundary and were immediately met with the impressive scarlet Hogwarts Express. All around them students stowed their trunks and prepared for the journey to the school. Abby looked up at her father and godfather and smiled.

            Her father let out a sad chuckle. “I’ll write to you all the time.”

            “So will I, thanks to Oddball.”

            Claudius smiled. “You’re welcome, kid. Remember what we told you.”

            “And no starting fights,” Noah added.

            “Dad, I would never start a fight.”

            “Yes, you would. Don’t,” he added plainly.

            “ _Fiiiine_.” Abby shuffled her feet. “I’ll miss you, dad.”

            “I’ll miss you too. But hey, you’ll see me at Christmas and Easter. I want to hear lots of stories.”

            “So do I,” Claudius patted Abby on the shoulder. “No avoiding people. And if Professor Longbottom _ever_ tells me that you’re misbehaving in his class I’ll make sure he knows everything embarrassing about you.”

            Abby gasped jokingly. “You _wouldn’t_.”

            “I would, and I will.” Claudius punched Noah in the arm. “That’s how you parent.”

            “Alright, Abby, the train’s leaving soon. Have a good first term.”

            “Bye dad! Bye Oddball!”

           

***

 

            Abby sat in an empty compartment reading A History of Magic with Dione in her cage beside her. It was fairly peaceful until:

            “Oh my god! It’s you!” a voice shouted from the door.

            Abby looked up and saw Elizabeth standing in the doorway with a huge grin.

            “I’m sorry if I did something wrong when I met you before…” she said uncomfortably.

            “No, no, it’s just an unfortunate coincidence,” Abby said quickly. She looked at her wand in her robe and sighed. “You’re welcome to join me if you’d like.”

            “Oh! Sure!” Elizabeth practically jumped into the seat opposite Abby. “And you can call me Liz!”

            “Um, hello Liz?” Abby said uncomfortably.

            “Hi Abby!”

            “You… remembered my name?”

            “It happened yesterday,” she said simply. “So! What house are you going to be in?” She asked with the utmost enthusiasm.

            “Oh, well my mom was in Ravenclaw, so that would be interesting.”

            “What about your dad?”

            “Horned Serpent.”

            Liz looked blankly at Abby. “He didn’t go to Hogwarts, did he?”

            “Ilvermorny.”

            “Ohhhhh, what’s that house like?”

            “Ravenclaw actually. So I suppose if I’m like them I’ll end up there.”

            “How do you feel about it?” Liz’s eyes were lit up with curiosity.

            “I’m going to just see what the Hat says. What about you?”

            “Well, my father is from a family of Slytherins. My mom’s a muggle.”

            Abby giggled.

            “What’s so funny?”

            “Well you’re clearly a Hufflepuff,” Abby said with a sly grin. “But I suppose we’ll see.”

            There was a slightly awkward silence.

            “So, have you read much of the textbooks?” Abby asked.

            Liz turned a little red. “No, I’m too excited to study.”

            “You’re going to pay for it if you don’t start now. There’s a lot to learn.”

            “Yeah you’re a Ravenclaw alright.”

            The two looked at each other then laughed. Abby smiled awkwardly. “Hey, my dad gave me the money he was going to spend on my wand to spend on stuff from the trolley. Want to eat a bunch of junk food?”

            “Why didn’t he spend it on your wand?”

            “Oh, it’s a whole weird story.” Abby recounted the story of her wand to Liz who watched with wide eyes. “What’s your wand like?”

            Liz produced a golden wand from her robe and swished it through the air. “It’s pear with a unicorn tail hair.”

            As she was waving her wand around, the compartment door opened and a somewhat familiar face looked inside. She had shoulder length, jet black hair and pale skin. Her eyes were striking green and her robes were clearly well made. It was the girl from Ollivander’s. She looked at Abby and Liz.

            “Who’re you two?” she asked suddenly. There was something in the forcefulness that made it feel like a command.

            “Why does it matter to you?” Abby asked.

            “I’m Elizabeth Greengrass.” Liz said happily.

            The girl eyed Liz and smiled. “Good family, you might be worth my time. What about your friend.”

            “I don’t know her family name.”

            Abby raised an eyebrow. “It’s Vanders. We’re related to the Ollivanders.”

            “Another good family.” She strode into the room and looked them both over. “I’m Olivia Travers. It’s a pleasure.” All three shook hands.

            “Why exactly do you care?” Abby asked.

            “Because it matters where you come from. The people you make friends with on this train matter. I’ve been looking around for someone worth my time.”

            “Well, come and join-” Liz began.

            “You’ll have to find someone else,” Abby said coolly.

            Olivia raised an eyebrow. “Careful Vanders. With an attitude like that you might end up trodden underfoot.” With that she turned and walked out of the compartment.

            “Why’d you do that?” Liz asked dejectedly.

            “Because that kind of person is not someone you want to be friends with. Only in it for herself.”

            “You sure know a lot.”

            “My godfather taught me a _lot_ about people. Especially her type.”

            With that the trolley arrived and the two bought a pile of treats with a little bit of everything. As they were eating and comparing Chocolate Frog Cards, Abby thought of something eyed the trolley witch suspiciously as she went to the next compartment.

            “Hey, has anyone ever really talked to the trolley witch? I mean, I’ve heard of her, but the description never changes. How long has she been doing this?”

            “Let’s ask her!”

            “No… I think if we’re going to ask her, it should be on the way home from our seventh year,”

Abby said suspiciously as she returned to her seat. “Oh! I got a Ron Weasley card.”

            Liz giggled at the picture. “He looks so proud of himself.”

            “It says this card is his proudest achievement despite helping bring about the fall of Voldemort,” Liz winced at the name. Abby looked at the tall, proud Auror, standing gallantly in the frame.

            Liz was curiously poking through a box of Every Flavour Beans. “Any class you’re really looking forward to?”

            “Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts for sure. And my godfather knows Neville Longbottom and his class should be interesting.”

            “ _Neville_ is teaching this year?” Liz asked excitedly.

            “Oh, yeah, he’s replacing Professor Sprout and he’ll be taking on the role of head of Gryffindor.”

            “ _No!_ ” Liz was beaming. “How does your godfather know him!?”

            “They’re business friends. Claudius helps him get plants. Especially for his classes this year.”

            “Your godfather seems super cool. What about your parents?”

            “My mom’s dead. My dad works for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.”

            Liz hesitated. “Sorry, I didn’t know.”

            Abby waved her hand. “No worries, it’s been a long time. My dad is great and so is my godfather. I know my mom is happy wherever she is.”

            Liz smiled. They continued on until they finally reached the Hogsmeade station.

 

***

 

            All the students poured out of the train and the first years were all summoned over by the gigantic man standing at the far end of the platform yelling, “Firs’ years over here!” When he was reasonably sure that all the first years had gathered he waved to everyone with a wide smile above his bushy beard. It was just after dusk and the sky was slowly sinking into star-filled darkness.

            “Welcome to all you firs’ years. My name’s Professor Rubeus Hagrid, an’ I’m Keeper of Keys an’ Grounds at Hogwarts. We’ll be makin’ our way across the lake on this lovely evenin’ and when we arrive you’ll be sorted inter yer houses.” Hagrid led the first years into the boats. Abby and Liz climbed into a tiny boat with one other girl neither of them recognized.

            Liz could barely keep still as they sailed across the glasslike surface of the lake.

            “You okay, Liz?”

            Liz turned around and grabbed Abby’s shoulders. She pointed up at the castle with its illuminated windows and imposing presence. “It’s everything I dreamed and more!” she said with wide eyes.

            Abby smiled. “It is pretty beautiful.”

            “It’s really happening! How do you stay so calm!?”

            “Oh, I’m plenty nervous. I just show it differently,” Abby’s eye twitched slightly.

            Finally they reached the shore and climbed the stairs up to the castle. Hagrid led them up the stairs and they finally met with a tall, handsome man in warm autumn gold robes with a silver trim. He had short, finely styled black hair and dark brown eyes. He proudly wore the Hufflepuff crest on his robe. “Here ya go, Professor. They’re all yers.” Hagrid said happily.

            The man looked at the crowd of first years and smiled. “Good evening to you all. My name is Professor Magnus Astasia, Deputy Headmaster, Head of Hufflepuff House, and Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts.” He gestured to the large door before them. “Once you go beyond this door, we’ll enter the great hall, and you’ll all be sorted into your houses. While you’re here, your house will be like your family. You will eat together, attend classes together, and spend time together in your common room. The four houses are Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. When everyone is sorted we will begin the welcoming feast.”

 

 

 

 

**Chapter 5**

**Choices**

 

           

            The first years filed into the Great Hall between the house tables. Before them, on a small wooden stool, was the Sorting Hat, lying patched and worn. It opened its mouth and began to sing of the four Houses and their founders. When it finally finished, Professor Astasia reached into his robe and produced a scroll.

            “Acacia, Emilia.”

            A tiny girl with white-blonde hair stepped forward and put on the hat. Almost instantly the hat cried out “Gryffindor!”

            “Blanche, Beckett,” became a Slytherin, as did, “Blanche, Iranole.”

            Abby watched as one after another students were sorted amongst the houses until finally “Greengrass, Elizabeth,” was called.

            Liz sat down and put the hat on her head. There was a long pause. Liz’s face continued to change and contort as though she was arguing with herself. After nearly three minutes, the hat cried out “Hufflepuff!”

            “Lupin, Edward,” was called and Abby eyed him curiously as she listened to the sudden chorus of whispers. She felt there was something she was missing about the significance of this person as he was sorted into Hufflepuff, taking a seat beside Liz.

            Abby didn’t pay much attention to the names of the next people until she heard, “Riley, Gabriel,” and saw the boy from King’s Cross step forward.

            The hat barely touched his head before it declared, “Gryffindor!”

            Another few students passed by and then, “Travers, Olivia,” was called.

            Abby expected to hear Slytherin without hesitation but was quickly faced with silence alongside the rest of the hall as the hat rested on her head, saying nothing. Two minutes passed but still the hat stayed silent. Olivia’s face was focused and emotionless. Two more minutes passed and several teachers had begun to lean forward. Abby was left with only two other students watching as Olivia faced the Hat’s judgment.

            “ _A Hatstall_ …” Abby whispered under her breath as she watched. She had read about this and was quite excited to see such a thing.

            Eight minutes had passed since Olivia donned the hat and the whole hall was silent in anticipation. Finally the silence was broken in an instant as the Hat proclaimed, “Slytherin!”

            A massive eruption of cheers exploded from the Slytherin table as their new student joined them. Olivia strode to the table proudly.

            One of the students beside Abby was called forward and became a Ravenclaw, and then it was Abby’s turn. “Vanders, Abigail,” Professor Astasia called out.

            Abby stepped forward and sat down on the stool. As she put on the Hat, a voice echoed in her head.

            “ _Oh, I see a lot of interesting things in you_ ,” said the voice.

            Abby didn’t say or think anything.

            “ _You have the mind of a Ravenclaw, but dreams beyond just knowledge,_ ” the hat whispered.

            Abby decided she’d let the Hat decide.

            “ _Oh, you want me to decide? Don’t you have an opinion on this? It’s all here in your head. A family of Ravenclaws and your mind is clearly sharp enough. And yet, there’s something more than just curiosity driving you.  You want so much, and yet you let me decide?_ ”

            _Yes_. Abby thought.

            “ _Interesting. A willingness to accept your fate. Well I shall use the best of my abilities then. A mind as sharp and hungry as yours would grow bored in Hufflepuff. Gryffindor is an interesting thought. Perhaps bravery and nobility taking a step ahead of knowledge; I’ve seen many choose that path. And then there’s proud and ambitious Slytherin. A desire to prove yourself above all others is a dangerous thing to combine with knowledge and curiosity. And yet, sometimes it can yield the greatest results. I see many interesting things in your future, and I think you’ll find that future finds you best in_ …”

            “Slytherin!” the Sorting Hat proclaimed to the hall. Abby stood up, set the hat down, and joined the cheering Slytherins.

            Abby sat down at the long table beside the boy named Beckett, making sure to avoid Olivia as much as possible. He was attractive, even for his age, with short blonde hair and dark green eyes. Beside him a girl, Abby remembered her name was Iranole, sat quietly watching the last sorting. She looked much like Beckett so Abby assumed they were twins.

            Beckett leaned over and held out his hand to shake. “Hello, nice to meet you.”

            Abby took his hand and shook it uncomfortably. Before their introduction could continue, Professor McGonagall stood from her seat at the head of the teacher’s table as Professor Astasia took his seat beside Hagrid’s.

            While the signs of age showed even clearer now for Professor McGonagall, she still gave off an air of power and authority as she stood.

            “Welcome, students, to another year at Hogwarts. Welcome especially to our new first years, I hope your time here is enjoyable and enlightening. Before we begin with the feast, I would like to say a few things. Firstly, I would like you all to join me in welcoming Neville Longbottom to our staff this year, taking over for Professor Sprout as professor of Herbology. I am also pleased to announce that he will be taking over the post of Head of Gryffindor House-” The entire Gryffindor table exploded into cheers and Neville stood and waved awkwardly, “following the retirement of Professor Aneir last year. And on this note I would like to welcome our second new professor, Professor Lysander Proxis,” as she said this, a thin man sitting a few seats left of McGonagall stood. He had dusty brown hair and a youthful yet experienced face. A pair of thin, frameless glasses sat almost invisible on his face. He bowed gracefully and sat back down. “Professor Proxis will be taking the role of Professor of Transfiguration.

            “Next, Quidditch try-outs will take place at the discretion of your House’s captain so please give your name to your Head of House as soon as possible. While it should be known to everyone, first-years are not permitted to have their own broomsticks, but they will be allowed to try out for their teams provided they have permission from their guardians.

            “Finally, it has been over ten years since Voldemort,” many people winced, “and his followers tried to divide us and bring us into submission. We stand, now more than ever, together. All four Houses must remember that all competition here is in good spirit and all of the teachers here, myself included, want to see cooperation and friendliness among the Houses. With that, let the feast begin.”

            The tables filled with food and Abby began to fill her plate. As she did, Beckett poked her in the arm.

            “So what’s your story?” He asked, forcing Abby to turn to him. As she did she noticed Olivia being swarmed with questions about her Hatstall. “You must come from a good family if you’ve been put in Slytherin.”

            “My dad’s family is related to the Ollivanders. I don’t know much about my mom’s family,” she replied, returning to her food.

            “Oh, how interesting,” Iranole had leaned over so she could see past her twin. Unlike her brother, she had a slight French accent unlike her brother. “We’re from a newer family in Britain, we moved from France two generations ago.”

            Abby nodded as she ate. She let her eyes wander around the table, eventually settling on the Bloody Baron as he glided above the table stoically. As she did, he floated over and bowed gracefully. “Welcome, new Slytherins.”

            “ _Ohh_ , I’ve heard about you,” Iranole said with intense curiosity.

            “My reputation precedes me,” the Baron said calmly. “I do hope you enjoy your stay here.”

            Abby thought for a moment “Hey, is it true that you can control Peeves?”

            The Baron turned and eyed Abby. “He has been known to listen to me. Why do you ask?”

            “Just curious mostly. Never hurts to know where to turn.”

            “Peeves mostly keeps away from Slytherins. If he’s giving you particular trouble you can come to me.”

            Abby nodded and kept eating. The Bloody Baron continued down the table.

            Beckett eyed the table and looked at Olivia. “So, what do you think of the Hatstall?”

            Abby shrugged but Iranole eyed Olivia carefully. “She looks quite confident,” said Iranole knowingly. “She has a certain air about her.”

            “I think she’s full of herself,” Abby said quietly. “Something like this only makes her ego bigger.”

            “Have you met her?” Beckett asked.

            “On the train, and I saw her get her wand.”

            Iranole leaned over. “ _Ohh_ , what’s her wand like?”

            Abby thought back. It was hard to remember such a small thing from such a big day. “I think it was cherry and dragon heartstring.”

            Beckett and Iranole nodded understandingly. Beckett eyed Olivia with a smile. “Well I know who I should make friends with. Both our wands are _made_ for duelling.”

            “I wish I got a cool wand,” Iranole sat back in her chair and slowly began eating. “Beckett gets a pretty Aspen wand and I’m stuck with boring Larch.”

            Abby avoided the topic of her wand and continued with her meal. After a few minutes she found herself looking around the Hall. Everything about it was impressive and intense; she was overwhelmed for the first time.

 

***

 

            Abby followed closely near the back of the Slytherin first years as they were led to their common room in the dungeons. They flooded into the common room and immediately they were welcomed in. The room became a cacophony of noise and Abby immediately swept through the room and up to the dormitories.

            Abby walked up to her four-poster bed on the left side of the room, looking at the green and silver hangings and the other four beds. She looked at her trunk but was too tired to bother opening it. She walked beside her bed and collapsed face down into the pillow with a groan. She flipped over just in time to see a dark-skinned girl walk into the dorms.

            “Oh, hello,” she said suddenly. “I didn’t think anyone would be up here yet.”

            Abby looked her over. She had long dark hair and almond brown eyes. She looked tired and a little exasperated. “I already introduced myself at dinner. I’m just not used to being around so many people at once.”

            “Oh, I see,” the girl said plainly as she started through her trunk. “I don’t think we met. I’m Clara Shacklebolt.”

            “Related to the Minister, huh?” Abby asked, putting her hands behind her head.

            “Yeah, it doesn’t afford me too many fast friends in Slytherin though,” Clara said lying down in the bed beside Abby. “What about you?”

            “Abigail Vanders, my dad’s from the US.”

            “That certainly explains the accent.”

            A voice echoed up the stairs and cut through their conversation. Iranole, Olivia, and another girl walked up into the dormitory talking about the Travers family.

            Once they reached the top of the stairs Olivia took one look at Abby and smirked.

            “So, we’ll be sharing a dorm. Good to see you again, Vanders,” Olivia said smoothly.

            “Oh, hello Olivia,” Abby waved her hand lazily.

            “I figured you’d end up in Hufflepuff with that… interesting girl on the train. Lovely to see you in noble Slytherin.”

            Abby smiled. “So what other Houses were you torn between?”

            “Excuse me?” Olivia looked a little taken aback by the question.

            Abby turned and looked at the third girl that had come in with them. She had white-blonde hair and deep brown eyes with thin glasses resting on her nose. She smiled at the question and looked at Olivia. “I was also wondering that. You stalled the Sorting Hat.”

            Olivia crossed her arms. “If you must know, it wanted to put me in both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor as well.”

            “Yeah, _noble_ _Slytherin_ loved them. Don’t go kidding yourself with this air of superiority,” Abby replied with a dismissive gesture.

            Olivia raised an eyebrow. “Do I need to teach you some manners?”

            “By all means, try me,” Abby said lying back and picking up her wand.

            Olivia drew her wand and Iranole stepped nervously aside. The third girl tapped Olivia on the shoulder. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to start a fight in the dormitory on our first night.”

            “Fine, whatever,” Olivia walked over and started going through her trunk at the far side of the room.

            The girl walked up to Abby and held out her hand to shake. There was an air of properness and formality about her. Even her robes seemed a little neater than usual. “Sofia Nott,” she said proudly.

            “Abigail Vanders.”

            “I don’t know _that_ name.”

            “Why should that matter?”

            “Well, my ancestor, Cantankerus Nott, wrote the book on the deepest running pure-blood families in Britain. To who are you related?”

            “The Ollivanders. My family moved to the US generations ago after family trouble.”

            “Hm.” Sofia nodded but said nothing else. She walked to the centre bed and began setting up her things.

            Iranole smiled but said nothing and went to her bed between Sofia and Olivia.

            Abby shrugged and flipped back into her pillow. It had been a long day, and there were many more to come.

 

 

 

 

**Chapter 6**

**Professors Proxis and Walsh**

 

            Abby sat in the Great Hall the next morning writing a letter to her father. She was thinking a lot about the previous day and spied Liz eating with four other students (three girls and a boy) and laughing heartily. Abby shrugged and bit into a piece of toast and continued to write.

           

_Hey Dad,_

_My first day was something else. After I got on the train I ran into a girl I met a few days ago and we talked all the way to school. The castle is amazing, I never could have imagined it would be quite so breath-taking. The sorting was also really interesting since there was a Hatstall (when the Hat takes a really long time to decide on a person’s House) and the person ended up in Slytherin. I also got sorted into Slytherin. It’s an interesting House._

_Can’t wait to hear back,_

_Love Abby_

 

            Abby sealed the letter and set it aside to take up to the Owlry later then finished up her breakfast. As she gathered up her things, she turned and saw a professor walking over to her. She realized it was Professor Proxis. He smiled warmly.

            “You must be Abby,” he said with a welcoming tone. “I daresay I had hoped to see you in my own House but I suppose Slytherin will be lucky to have you.”

            “You know me?” Abby asked, pulling her bag over her shoulder.

            “Claudius and I are old friends. He told me you were coming to school this year and I wanted to introduce myself.”

            “How do you know him?”

            He smiled coyly. “Don’t tell anyone but he rents his shop from me,” he said with a wink.

            “Then you’re…?”

            “I most certainly am. If you need anything don’t hesitate to ask.” With that he turned and walked out of the Hall with an almost ethereal motion to his step. As he did, Olivia and Beckett walked up to Abby and both grinned. Iranole walked quickly up behind them.

            “Already buttering up teachers, eh Vanders?” Olivia asked with a sinister air.

            Abby shrugged. “He’s a friend of my family.”

            Olivia raised an eyebrow. “Maybe you can get him to cut back on our homework then.”

            “Homework is important,” Abby said walking past Olivia. “Don’t slack or you might find yourself… _trodden underfoot_ ,” Abby added with a tone to match Olivia’s. She left the two and headed towards the dungeons for potions.

***

 

            Hogwarts was everything her mother had promised and more. Everywhere she turned there seemed to be one magical wonder or another. By the time she arrived in Potions she was completely overwhelmed and ended up wandering directly into Gabe in the doorway and stumbling to the ground.

            “Oh!” Gabe spun around and helped Abby up.

            “I didn’t expect someone to also get here early. Sorry about that,” Abby dusted herself off.

            Gabe smiled. “I honestly didn’t either.” Then he realized something. “Oh, you’re that girl from the platform.”

            “Yeah, hi. Gabe, right?”

            Gabe flushed. “You remembered me?”

            Abby looked puzzled. “Of course. It was only a day ago.”

            “I suppose it was, wasn’t it? Sorry it’s been a busy day. The Gryffindors really like to welcome their new arrivals. I met a lot of new people. What was your name?”

            “Abby. We should go get set up for class.”

            “Want to share a table?” Gabe blurted out.

            “Oh, sure,” Abby said calmly. She understood the situation pretty quickly and realized there was nothing to be lost by saying yes. The two walked into the classroom and saw the professor preparing for their lesson. He had short, silver hair, and elegant black, green, and silver robes. His face was stern, yet warm. He smiled at Gabe and Abby as they began to set up at a table at the front of class.

            “Good morning,” he said setting his book aside.

            “Good morning, Professor,” said Abby looking up from her bag.

            Gabe quickly jolted upright. “Good morning!”

            He chuckled. “I’m Professor Walsh, Head of Slytherin House.”

            Abby thought for a moment and realized he must have introduced himself after she went to bed. “I’m Abby, I’m in Slytherin actually. I just didn’t stay in the common room for the welcoming party.”

            “Why not?”

            “I was feeling overwhelmed from the day,” she lied.

            Professor Walsh smirked. “Yes, well I hope in the future you’re not too overwhelmed to give them all a chance. You’re not bound to like everyone but you might find some hidden friends.” He looked to Gabe who seemed quite intimidated. “And what was your name?”

            “I’m Gabe,” he answered quickly. “I’m in Gryffindor.”

            Professor Walsh raised an eyebrow and looked at Abby. “A little biased against Slytherin?”

            “I’m sorry… my mom fled Britain just before the war. I know there are good people in this House but there are also a lot of people with dark potential. Slytherin himself wanted to separate muggle-borns like Gabe,” Abby crossed her arms.

            “You’re clearly very well read. I take it you’ve put equal time into your potions textbook?”

            “Try me,” Abby said with a mischievous grin.

            Professor Walsh walked over from his desk and scratched his chin. “Okay, what’s Aconite?”

            “Aconite, or Wolfsbane, is a toxic plant whose roots are used as a common ingredient to potions, most notably the Wolfsbane Potion.”

            Professor Walsh nodded approvingly. “How long does a Forgetfulness Potion need to brew for?”

            “About an hour, though it can be less depending on the cauldron type.”

            Gabe raised his eyebrows. Professor Walsh paused to think up another question. “Alright, back on the subject of Aconite. How much does one use in a Wideye Potion? Bonus points if you can tell me the next step as well.”

            Abby paused and thought for a moment. “Two sprigs. And afterwards you stir three times clockwise and complete the potion with a wave of the wand.”

            “Anti-clockwise,” Gabe said. Professor Walsh and Abby both immediately turned to him. “I think,” he added.

            “Gabe is right, and so are you for the most part astoundingly. Thirty points to Slytherin and I’ll give your bonus points to Gabe here. Ten points to Gryffindor.” As he finished his sentence students began filing into the classroom. As timing would have it, all anyone heard was “Ten points to Gryffindor,” and all the other Gryffindor first-years beamed at Gabe, trying to imagine what he must have been talking about with the professor to earn their House points so early in the term.

            Abby was honestly quite glad no one else but Gabe had heard that scene in its entirety. The last thing she wanted was that much attention. She would have to be careful with displaying how much she knew from then on.

            Abby then caught sight of Olivia walking into class with Beckett beside her. Following after them were Iranole, Sofia, and Clara all talking amongst themselves. All five of them gave Abby strange looks when they noticed she was sitting with a Gryffindor but Abby’s confident gaze didn’t flicker for a moment. She was too happy to have finally tested her well-honed mind and even happier to have received such a magnificent effect.

            The Potion lesson began in a fairly mundane manner as Professor Walsh introduced himself and began explaining the nature of potion making. He posed a few questions similar to the ones he had asked Abby, though considerably less specific. Abby didn’t think it important to answer any of the questions; Professor Walsh already had a gauge of her knowledge. Gabe on the other hand showed his knowledge at every opportunity earning Gryffindor another twenty points before the end of the class.

            As everyone got up to leave Gabe turned to Abby. “Hey, you’re really smart.”

            “Thank you; you’ve clearly studied a lot yourself.”

            “We should study together.”

            “Sure,” Abby said plainly. “See you next class.”

            “See you next class,” he said with a smile and left for the Gryffindor’s next lesson.

 

***

 

            Abby walked into the library in the free period between her classes and set her bag down on a table. She reached into the bag and withdrew a small, folded piece of parchment and unfolded it. Written on it were Claudius’ list and a note to Abby.

           

_Abby,_

_I think the following will be helpful for both of us in this search. This is a list of books I’ll need some information from. There are several from the restricted section so you’ll need permission from a professor. Ask Professor Proxis (you’ll understand when you meet him)._

 

            Abby read the note and the list below. The list had several books sorted by magical discipline. There were Divination books, a few books about odd magical creatures, and one with no discipline that said simply: “( _Ask Proxis)”_. She looked up and scanned the massive collection of books before her.

            “Did you need help finding something?” a woman’s voice asked from behind her.

            Abby spun around and saw the tall, stern, round-faced librarian looking down at her. Abby fumbled for her list.

            “Um, I’m looking for books on,” she checked the list again, “Xylomancy?”

            Madam Pince raised an eyebrow and led Abby to a large shelf of Divination books. “May I ask why?” she asked suspiciously.

            Abby put her hands behind her back and looked around thoughtfully. “I’m just doing some early research.”

            “For your third year?”

            “Er…”

            “It’s not in the restricted section, you don’t have to lie. Though I’ll keep this in mind the next time you come in here asking for strange books.”

            Abby shrugged and pulled down the book. She strode back to her chair only to be met by the sight of Sofia walking in.

            “Oh, hello,” she said plainly, adjusting her glasses. “What brings you here?”

            “Reading,” Abby replied blankly.

            “About Xylomancy?” Sofia leaned over to better see the book. “What’s that?”

            Abby opened the book and flipped through it. “It’s… a kind of Divination? Involving sticks?”

            Sofia stood in stunned silence. “Alright, you’re weird. What’s going on _really?_ ”

            “That’s a _secret_ ,” Abby gestured dismissively with her hand and set the book down beside her bag. “What’re _you_ doing here?”

            “I’m just here to read, unlike you, clearly,” Sofia walked to a nearby table and sat down. She pulled a copy of The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore out of her bag and began reading quietly.

            Abby started reading and looking specifically for the things Claudius had written down. It was some kind of odd ritual involving wands and sticks of the same wood. His instructions also included a specific request that she performs the ritual and send the results back to him.

            She was furiously writing and became so absorbed that she didn’t notice Sofia walk over.

            Sofia cleared her throat and made Abby jump and make a massive streak of ink across the parchment. “This isn’t just an idle curiosity, what’re you up to?” She asked, eyeing the parchment.

            “It’s something for my wand,” Abby replied, taking out her wand. “We don’t know what the core is and we’re trying to figure it out.”

            “Didn’t you buy your wand from Ollivander? _Ohh,_ it’s a family thing isn’t it?” Sofia suddenly seemed much more interested.

            “No, I wasn’t chosen by any wand until we tried this one my godfather had,” Abby waved the wand and small white flames lingered in a glowing trail behind it. “It does that a lot.”

            “Is there something wrong with it?”

            “Well, it’s completely petrified.”

            Sofia’s eyebrows rose and Abby frowned.

            Abby folded up her parchment and slipped it into her bag. _Of course_ , she thought, _now I’ve told her and she’ll tell everyone_. Abby turned to Sofia and gave her as intense a stare as she could manage. “That’s all I’m going to say. Please don’t spread this around. I don’t want attention.”

            Sofia adjusted her glasses as Abby stood up and walked away, leaving the book behind.

 

***

           

            _Nosy people_ … thought Abby as she walked down the halls. Students darted around all around her enjoying the few days before the term began. She felt a twinge of longing for her godfather’s store and the long afternoons spent there talking about magic and people. It was coming up on lunch and the warm sunlight was pouring in through the castle windows.

            Abby walked down a staircase and immediately came upon something she had deeply hoped to not see.

            “Leave me alone!” It was Liz, standing with her wand out, pointing it at Olivia.

            Olivia stood grinning. “What’s wrong Greengrass? Afraid of your family’s past?”

            “I have no interest in anything you have to say!” Liz’s face was flushed red in rage.

            Abby walked over as she noticed a few second and third years paying attention. Olivia turned and smiled. “Hello Vanders.”

            “Why are you bothering people?” Abby asked, gesturing at Liz. “Do you have nothing better to do?”

            “I was just chatting about her family.”

            Liz stomped her foot and pushed Abby aside. “She _insulted_ my family.”

            Abby rolled her eyes. “Liz, just leave. She’s not worth your time.”

            Olivia raised an eyebrow. “I’m not worth her time?”

            Abby turned. “Yeah, you’re not. Go away.” Abby drew her wand and several people around them moved to get a better look at what was going on.

            “What exactly do you plan to do to me?” Olivia drew her wand.

            Before Abby could answer, a professor walked into the corridor and interrupted. It was Professor Proxis. He looked at the two girls with wands pointed at each other.

            “Two Slytherins fighting on the first day,” he shook his head. “I’m disappointed.”

            Abby spun on her heel quickly. “Please, she was-”

            “Whatever she was doing did not warrant you drawing your wand and using magic _in a corridor_ ,” Proxis said calmly. He put the slightest inclination into the words and caught Abby’s eye for a second.

            “Please, Professor, it was all her fault,” Olivia pointed at Liz whose face contorted in rage.

            “I’m not stupid, young lady,” Professor Proxis looked around and saw the crowd. “Ten points from Slytherin, and I _will_ give detentions if need be.”

            Olivia rolled her eyes and looked at Abby. “We’ll settle this another time, Vanders,” she spat viciously. With that she strode away with a sway in her step.

            Liz and Abby turned to Professor Proxis. Liz beamed at him. “Thank you so much, Professor.”

            He smiled, then he turned to Abby and his expression became a lot sterner. “Just because you were rescuing your friend doesn’t mean you can start fights.”

            Abby shuffled her feet and put away her wand. “Okay…” she muttered. “I’m sorry.”

            “Good. Hopefully it won’t happen again,” Professor Proxis said with a nod and strode away dreamily.

            Liz turned to Abby and grabbed her in a tight hug. “You’re the best!” she exclaimed as she released Abby.

            “Why are you letting her push your buttons?” Abby asked as she put her wand away.

            Liz hesitated. “She’s… intimidating.”

            Abby stifled a giggle.

            “Hey! I thought you were on my side!” Liz went pink.

            “I am. It’s just silly. Even if she does know some magic it wouldn’t be anything that could hurt you. She’s likely had the exact same exposure to magic as you have.”

            “But I can’t just stand there while she insults my family…”

            “Yes, you can actually,” Abby pointed at the ground. “There’s a good spot to try.”

            Liz smiled.

            “She’s just trying to get a rise out of you. If you do nothing, she loses. You want to get back at her, be indifferent. See how much she already hates me?”

            “Yeah, I noticed that.”

            “She thinks she’s strong, it’s a pretty big weakness,” Abby said with a shrug. “I aspire to demonstrate to her in every way that she is not as great as she thinks.”

            “Don’t you think that’s… unnecessary?” Liz asked reprehensively.

            Abby thought for a moment. _Maybe Oddball was right about this girl. He does know people,_ she mused. “Yeah, I suppose. Don’t want to waste my evenings in detention.”

            Liz grabbed Abby’s arm and pulled her along. “Come on, let’s go have lunch!”

            “Er… will the other Hufflepuffs be okay with me sitting at their table?”

            “Honestly I’d be more concerned about what the Slytherins will say.”

            “Yeah, because I care what _they_ think about me. Let’s go,” Abby said with a bright smile.

 

***

           

            Abby and Liz parted ways after lunch as they both headed to their classes. Abby was curious about Defence Against the Dark Arts but unlike her Potions lesson, it ultimately proved to be completely dull. Professor Astasia was a wise and composed teacher but his methods were dry and he did nothing to romanticize the subject. If anything, it felt as though he was trying to stop students from being overly expectant after having heard the stories from times of Dumbledore. Abby still found herself able to answer all of Professor Astasia’s questions easily, though she only answered a small handful directly, making sure to only answer more than Olivia.

            When class let out it was mid-afternoon and students were flooding the grounds with activity. Abby strode casually across the grounds and out to the greenhouses. She knocked on the first and second greenhouses and received no response, but on the third a voice called “come in!”

            Abby walked in and saw Neville preparing ten steel planters with fertilizer, mulch, and dirt. He looked down at Abby and gave a curious look.

            “Oh! You’re Abby, right?”

            Abby blushed. “Um, yes,” she said in a small voice.

            “What can I do for you on this lovely afternoon?”

            “Um, I need help finding beech wood. You’re the only one I could think to ask.”

            Neville thought for a moment. “Well there should be some beech trees on the grounds,” he said. He gave Abby a detailed description and sent her on her way with a good guess for where to look. Sure enough she found a suitable tree immediately and gathered several sticks from the living tree. Her task complete she returned to the castle.

 

***

 

            Abby found a deserted classroom and took out her notes, the twigs, and her wand. She arranged all the sticks on a desk in the diagram it had shown and raised her wand above the centre.

            She tapped the centre of the twigs three times and placed the tip of her wand on the table. She then held her wand vertical in the centre of the twigs and let go. All at once the twigs withered and the wand clunked solidly onto the desk.

            Abby raised her eyebrows and started writing her letter to her godfather.

 

_To Oddball,_

_I got to Hogwarts and I think I even made a friend or two. Things have been pretty interesting but I’ll spare you the details for another time. I wanted to mainly tell you that I tried the first Divination method you listed and it made the twigs shrivel up like they were dead. I hope that can provide some useful information to you because it just confused me._

 

            She paused.

 

            _Oddball, I got sorted into Slytherin and_ _being in this House feels weird. I’m not really sure what to expect from all this and I’m a little concerned that dad will think you’re rubbing off on me. I hope you’ve been well and I can’t wait to hear what you’ve found out about my wand._

_Love, Abby_.

 

            She nodded and sealed the letter. She grabbed all the twigs and put them in her bag and pocketed her robe. She turned and found Professor Proxis leaning against the back wall of the classroom.

            “Hey there, you know you’re breaking a rule right now, right?” he asked plainly.

            “Oh! Um…” Abby looked around nervously. “I didn’t know…”

            “You’d think Claudius’ goddaughter would know not to break rules so obviously. You left the door open,” he said with a lazy gesture to the open door.

            Abby smacked her forehead and groaned. “Am I in trouble?”

            “Oh, heavens no,” he laughed. “I just wanted to scare you. I’m here to teach, not enforce rules.”

            “But aren’t professors supposed to uphold the rules?”

            “And aren’t students not supposed to break said rules? I won’t tell if you don’t,” Proxis said with an exaggerated whisper gesture and walked out of the room.

            Abby stood in silent awe of the odd professor. Eventually she resigned herself to just shrug and head to the Owlry to send her letters

 

 

 

 

 

**Chapter 7**

**The Dark Heart**

 

            Abby awoke early again the next day. The Slytherins had Herbology first period with Ravenclaw and she wanted to get to class as soon as possible. She looked at the other four girls still sleeping lazily in their beds and shook her head. She grabbed her bag and set off for breakfast.

            Before she knew it she was in the Great Hall among the few students awake before her. It was odd, she thought, how she suddenly found herself already at the table sitting and eating. Before she considered it further, Dione dropped two letters in front of her and landed on her head with a soft hoot. Abby opened the letter from her father.

 

            _Dear Abby,_

_Firstly I know when you’re trying to avoid talking about something. I’m proud of you regardless of which house you’re in. I know Slytherin has a dubious record but it also produced some truly great witches and wizards. Your mother would be proud._

_I’m glad you’re so taken with Hogwarts and I’m glad to hear you’re at least trying to talk to people. Remember that your mother wanted you to experience the same thing she did when she was your age and that means making friends. I know I wasn’t able to give you a childhood with a lot of other kids but now you can have some real fun. And please, I don’t care how “prepared” you want to be, put down the books sometimes._

_I’ll write back to check in on you soon,_

_Love Dad_

 

            Abby smiled and opened Claudius’ letter.

 

            _Hey Abby,_

_I knew you’d be in Slytherin, but it’s definitely not my influence. You’re ambitious, strong-willed, and you have a constant desire to improve yourself. If anything you’re more of a Slytherin than a lying, manipulative, crook of a business man like me. But I suppose mixing those kinds of traits are what give you people like Death Eaters. Remember that there are always things you shouldn’t do to achieve something, Abby._

_Now, as for the ritual I had you perform, I’m sure you noticed that it was to test the quality of wand wood. I’ve been told that most of the wood around Hogwarts is at least somewhat close to wand quality which means it should be able to handle that particular ritual which tests the wood against the core of the wand used. Now since each core does something different to the wood, we can learn more about your core. This certainly has some disturbing implications, however. Your wand made things wither which gives me a lot of information to work with. Be aware though, since the quality of wood required changes for each core, and even good quality wood reacted so negatively, we know that your core, and by extension your wand as a whole, contains a large amount of power. I suspected this when I asked you to try out a Shield Charm which is something someone your age shouldn’t be able to do. You will likely find yourself able to cast spells easier than your classmates, but don’t show off. I have to emphasize once more not to start fights._

_For now you can stop doing research for me. I didn’t expect to get such useful information from the first test. I’ll write back when I know more. In the meantime, go and spend time with your new friends and enjoy your lessons._

_Have a good start of your year,_

_Love Claudius_

 

            Abby finished reading the letter with an understanding smile. It was a lot to take in but she didn’t feel uncomfortable with her interesting fate. If anything, she was even more excited now that they had made some progress.

            “Hey Abby,” Gabe said, making her jump in her seat. She turned and saw him standing awkwardly behind her. “You’re up early.”

            Abby looked around the mostly empty Great Hall. Slowly students were trickling in to eat breakfast. “I wanted to be ready for Herbology.”

            “Oh, cool. Well I just wanted to say hi.”

            Abby blinked. She was still waking up and wasn’t fully seeing things for what they were so she simply replied, “hi.”

            Gabe walked away uncomfortably leaving Abby with her letters and remaining breakfast. As she started thinking about what had just happened, her thought was instantly interrupted by Olivia walking up to her with a sinister grin.

            “Good morning, Vanders.”

            “Olivia.”

            “I like your style; you’ve already got that Gryffindor wrapped around your finger.”

            Abby looked over to Gabe who was sitting among some other Gryffindors at their table. “He’s a friend.”

            Olivia raised an eyebrow. “Why? Are you protecting him like Greengrass?”

            “I’m not protecting Liz. She’s just my friend and I can knock you to the side easily.”

            “What makes you so confident of that?” Olivia said sliding her hand down to her wand.

            Abby turned back to her food. “A lot of things,” she replied as she stealthily went for her wand.

            “Why don’t we find out right now?” Olivia drew her wand.

            “In the Great Hall? Even you’re not that stupid.” Abby grinned to herself. _Come on, take my bait_ , she thought as her hand rested on her wand just out of sight of Olivia.

            “So you won’t fight me here? Are you afraid? I think you’re all talk. I could easily jinx you right now.”

            “You could try, and you could end up looking like a fool in front of everyone. Do you want to risk that?”

            Olivia hesitated.

            “Yeah, I’m the one who’s clearly afraid.” Olivia’s glare burned into the back of Abby’s head. Abby just grinned calmly. “You’re a joke,” she said as her grin spread wide.

            Olivia snapped. “ _Calvario_!” she screamed.

            “ _Protego!_ ” Abby drew her wand and pointed it behind her. The silvery shield appeared in an instant and the jinx rebounded, knocking Olivia to the ground.

            The entire hall turned to see what had happened, including Professor McGonagall who had been eating when Abby arrived in the hall, and Professor Proxis who arrived sometime since.

            About half the students and both teachers walked over to Abby and Olivia. Olivia was now sitting on the ground in silence with a bald head, holding her hair in her hands.

            “What on _earth_ is going on here?” Professor McGonagall demanded as she walked through the crowd. She looked at Abby who had already slipped her wand into her robes, then at Olivia whose wand was on the ground beside her.

            As this happened, Beckett and Iranole walked through the crowd and saw what was going on. Iranole stifled a giggle. This prompted all the students to begin laughing as well. Olivia looked around in horror, then stood up and ran through the crowd and out of the Hall crying.

            Everyone turned to Abby. She looked around anxiously.

            “Headmistress, I’ll go and get young Olivia,” Proxis said calmly.

            “Yes, you had better. And you, what’s your name?” As she said this, Proxis moved through the crowd and followed after Olivia.

            “Abigail Vanders,” Abby said calmly. She knew she was safe. “I was just defending myself. Olivia came and started harassing me.”

            “And how exactly did you manage to hit her so easily without getting hit yourself?”

            “I used a Shield Charm.”

            The crowd murmured. McGonagall raised a suspicious eyebrow. “You can perform a Shield Charm?”

            Abby nodded.

            “Can you prove this?”

            Abby stood up and took out her wand. “ _Protego_.” Once more the thin, silvery shield appeared then vanished shortly after.

            “That’s quite impressive. I’ll be keeping an eye on you. As you did defend yourself, and in a most impressive manner, I’ll withhold punishment this time. As for Olivia, I don’t think I need to add any further punishment to what she already did to herself.”

            Abby smiled. “Thank you, Professor. I’m sorry to cause a scene.”

            “Yes, well next time I hope you’ll find a more peaceful solution.” McGonagall turned and walked back to the teacher’s table. As she did, the crowd dispersed, Gabe, Beckett, and Iranole stayed behind and stood around Abby.

            “You can do a Shield Charm? In your first year?” Beckett asked with an expression of disbelief.

            Abby nodded.

            “How?”

            “That’s a secret.”

            “Tell me.”

            “No.”

            The two stood with their eyes locked together. Gabe tapped Abby on the shoulder. “That was impressive but don’t you think you should apologize to Olivia?”

            Iranole shuffled her feet awkwardly. “Yeah… you put her in her place pretty cleanly.”

            Abby shook her head. “She let this happen to herself and I’m glad she did. I’m not sorry.”

            “Will you teach me to do a Shield Charm?” Beckett asked suddenly.

            “No. Learn how to do it yourself.”

            Gabe frowned and walked away silently.

            Beckett’s expression changed to frustration and he sat down without another word. He started piling his plate with food without so much as looking at Abby. Iranole looked at her and smiled uncomfortably, then sat with her brother to eat.

            Abby gathered her things and set out for the greenhouses. As she reached the door of the Great Hall, “Hello again, Abby,” Proxis said serenely from the doorway. He was clearly waiting for her.

            Abby walked up. “Did you find Olivia?”

            “I found her and sent her to the hospital wing. That was quite the thing to do to her. Especially on her second day.”

            “I defended myself. She’s the one that was going to do that to _me_.”

            “Interesting. I admit I watched what happened, and I was curious if I had heard correctly when I heard you shout ‘ _protego.’_ I assume your godfather taught you that one.”

            Abby nodded.

            “Still, I can’t help but think she wouldn’t have done this without provocation,” he said with a grin.

            “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

            “You’re a bad liar.”

            Abby shrugged. “I just told her the truth. She didn’t like that. Now she’s in the hospital wing re-growing hair instead of going to her first Herbology class.”

            “How did you like your first taste of power?”

            “What?”

            Proxis smiled. “You demonstrated clearly and efficiently that you were better than someone. You took power and used it. How did it feel?”

            Abby knew the answer. It felt good. She craved more. “It was uncomfortable,” she lied.

            “I’m sure it was. Have a good day, Abby.” Proxis nodded goodbye and walked back to the staff table.

Abby then set off for Herbology, all the while going over the moments again and again, revelling in how it had felt. It was after only a few steps into the hall that she decided to stop at the hospital wing.

 

***

            Abby walked into the hospital wing to find Madam Pomfrey standing over a short-haired Olivia talking quietly. From the look of Olivia’s face, she had been crying until just a moment ago. She and Madam Pomfrey turned when Abby walked through the door.

            “I assume she’s the one you mentioned?” Madam Pomfrey asked Olivia. Olivia simply nodded with a sniff.

            Abby walked over and smiled sadly. “Hi, I was hoping I could talk to Olivia. I wanted to apologize.”

            Madam Pomfrey smiled. “Okay, I’ll give you two some peace to talk.” She returned to her office.

            Abby looked at Olivia. Now that she looked closely, she could see that Olivia’s hair was slowly growing longer.

            “You came to apologize? I find that hard to believe.”

            Abby smiled. “You’re smarter than I thought.”

            “Then why _are_ you here?”

Abby’s smile turned to a sneer. “Hurts, doesn’t it? Sitting there knowing just how much better I am.”

            “You’re not-”

            “Yes, I am,” Abby snickered. “You even took my bait and landed yourself here. You don’t really think it was your brilliant idea to attack me, do you?”

            Olivia’s face went slightly pale.

            “I knew I could win long before you attacked. I want you to remember this feeling, Olivia. I am _better_ than you. I always will be. Every time you strike at me, I will make you feel something worse than this. I tell you this because I want something from you. You might be weaker than me, but you’re also quite clearly someone that craves power. I know that you’re the type to scheme against people and I know that you’re also the type to harass and provoke people. I don’t care what you do to _most_ people. I just want you to stay away from me and my friends. Anyone I associate with will be off limits. If you dare to disobey, I will send you right back here. I believe the term you used was ‘ _crushed underfoot_.’”

            Olivia was silent.

            “I’m going to Herbology. You should come too. After all, if you fall behind you’ll only find yourself farther below me,” Abby added as she turned and walked out of the hospital wing.

 

***

 

            Abby strode triumphantly to the greenhouses replaying the scene in her head over and over. But it wasn’t just the victory that she was revelling in; it was the promise of more. Olivia would surely come back and try again, and Abby would be ready. She half wondered how long Olivia’s pride would last and when she would inevitably concede defeat. If she was right, it would take a long time.

            Abby smiled at the thought as she walked into the greenhouse. She was surprised as another student already speaking to Neville. Neville looked up and smiled. “Oh, you’re Abby, right?”

            Abby nodded as she selected a good place to set up for the lesson. “Good to see you again, Professor.” She focused herself as much as possible to maintain a calm demeanour.

            The boy he was talking to turned to face Abby. He was a little taller than her with jet black hair and cold blue eyes. He was dressed in Ravenclaw robes with a pair of thin, black framed glasses resting on his face. He carried himself with a calm and mature air. “Lovely to meet you. Asher Flynn,” he shook Abby’s hand. “Good to see a peer arriving early for the first lesson.”

            Abby smiled pleasantly. He was hard to read. She wondered if he was assessing her in the same way. From the way his eyes locked with hers they were clearly trying to read each other.

            Neville looked from Abby to Asher. “Um… do you two know each other?”

            Abby let go of Asher’s hand quickly and jumped. She blushed and couldn’t think what to say.

            Asher smiled and turned casually. “No we’re just very similar as it seems. Professor Longbottom is a good friend of my father. He’s a renowned herbologist.”

            “I admit I’m not that knowledgeable about the subject,” Abby admitted.

            “Well that’s what we’re here for isn’t it?” Neville asked happily. “I know Asher will certainly be earning some points for Ravenclaw today.”

            Abby narrowed her gaze. A multitude of choices and scenarios played out quickly in Abby’s mind. She wanted Asher’s respect, and she wanted Neville’s respect, but she also really didn’t want to play this game and lose. In the end she knew what was best.

            Asher paused for a moment. “If the opportunity arises.”

            Neville laughed.

            Other students had begun to trickle into the greenhouse cutting the conversation short. Abby took a spot beside Asher and spent the lesson doing her best to read the other people around her. Olivia had shown up with her hair mostly grown back and a look of masked fury that made Abby grin. Beckett kept eyeing her from the other side of the class and Iranole seemed wholly absorbed with keeping herself as clean as possible. Her other two dorm mates, Clara and Sofia, were both paying close attention to Neville.

            However, she spent the majority studying Asher. He was calm and polite and his answers always came from a silent room. He always waited until the last moment to present his knowledge and when he did he played it off coolly. _He would be a powerful friend_ , Abby mused.

            As the lesson came to an end and everyone was leaving, Abby turned to Asher and smiled up at him. “It was nice meeting you, Asher,” she held out her hand to shake. He shook it and smiled. “We should study together; Herbology is quickly looking like my weakest subject.”

            He grinned. “Sure, just give me a time.” With that he grabbed his things and left with the other Ravenclaws.

            Abby walked out of the greenhouse and was immediately met by Iranole’s face.

            “Who’s that boy? You were staring at him a lot.”

            Abby raised an eyebrow. “Why do you care?”

            “Isn’t it a little early to be going boy crazy? I saw you with that boy in potions too.”

            “Oh good, you’re just being idiotic. I was worried you had some real reason for bothering me.” Abby began to walk away.

            “Don’t just walk past me!”

            “Do you really care that much about something like this?”

            “Yes!”

            Abby sighed. “They’re both smart. I want smart people to study with. Plus Asher knows about my weakest subject.”

            “Which one is Asher?”

            Abby rolled her eyes. “Leave me alone. Go bother Olivia.”

            “Olivia wanted to be left alone. She said she had things to do.”

            Abby laughed heartily and started up towards the castle. “Already plotting her revenge. That was fast. I look forward to what she comes up with.”

            “Wait, you’re looking forward to it?” Iranole followed after her.

            “Why wouldn’t I?”

            “What if she tries to do something really horrible?” she sounded actually concerned.

            Abby stopped and rolled her eyes. “Olivia is not the brightest person if you haven’t noticed. She knew a little bit about potions and nothing in Herbology. Next to nothing in Defence Against the Dark Arts either. From the moment she tried to intimidate me I’ve had her sized up. That said, she’s not going to do anything stupid like breaking rules.”

            “Why not?”

            Abby smiled. “She stalled the Sorting Hat. Then she chose Slytherin. It would be a terrible shame if she were to break a rule and lose Slytherin the House Cup. Even she knows that.”

            Iranole stared blankly. “How…?”

            “I’ve been told my mother was quite gifted.”

            “You can’t possibly predict what Olivia will come up with.”

            “Oh, really? Just wait. And make sure you have a good seat when it happens.” With that, Abby continued up towards the castle leaving Iranole speechless.

 

***

            Abby waited out by the lake after eating lunch. She had planned to meet Liz when her Herbology class was over and go to Charms together once fifth period came around.

            Abby swished her wand through the air creating a kind of pale ripple in the air like gently touching the surface of water. It was puzzling. Other people’s wands didn’t do this. Hers seemed to constantly be radiating energy. Perhaps that was related to the petrification. She pointed it at a nearby leaf. “ _Wingardium Leviosa_ ,” she motioned as best as she could manage from the examples in the textbook. It rolled over. Likely owing more to the breeze than to the spell. She frowned. _Why can I use a shield charm but not this?_

            “A teacher is important too, you know.” Abby looked up and saw Liz standing over her. “You study too much.”

            “Yes, well, I defended myself with a shield charm earlier today thanks in part to that studying.”

            “I heard about that. It was just a passing rumour but some Gryffindor spread it around that Olivia got beat by someone in the Great Hall. All the Gryffindors are talking about it now and it was a big topic in Herbology. Thing is, almost no one knows it was you. Well no one for sure. A few different people spoke up claiming they were the ones that did it. I think that Beckett boy was one of them. Most people seem to think it was him.”

            Abby’s eyes widened. She had some sinister ideas.

            “I’m sorry they don’t think it’s you. I think it was a good thing to do. She tried to attack you and you defended yourself. You should get the credit you-”

            “Beckett can have total credit.” Abby smiled.

            Liz stared blankly. “Why?”

            “He wants it.”

            “But you-”

            “I proved my point to Olivia. That’s all I was trying to do.”

            “Your point?”

            Abby grinned up at Liz. “It’s interesting, you know. Perspective changes things so much. You and the rest of the school saw just one view. Olivia didn’t attack me. I prodded until she lashed out, then countered the inevitable basic jinx. I showed her that I can control her and defeat her with a simple spell. I can’t wait until she comes up with some revenge plan.”

            Liz shuffled her feet. “I… think you should just apologize to her.”

            Abby laughed. “Why? She was humiliated because of her own spell choice. This was my answer to her initial threat on the train.”

            “What threat?” Liz paused to think back through the fog of recent memories. “That thing she said when she walked away?”

            “I thought it would be fitting if I responded to a threat of being ‘ _crushed underfoot_ ’ by making her feel crushed beneath my heel.” Abby hadn’t noticed, but silver light now radiated from her wand. Liz was too distracted by Abby’s sinister grin to notice the faint light in the afternoon sun.

            “Isn’t all this going a little far?” Liz asked apprehensively.

            Abby chuckled. “It wouldn’t happen if Olivia didn’t enable it. She brings it on herself. I will only ever respond to her threats and attacks with enough force to prevent future conflict.”

            “I suppose…”

            “Come and sit with me Liz. We’ve got another half hour till Charms. There’s something I wanted to share.”

            Liz came and sat down. She truly didn’t want to, but deep down, her curiosity got the better of her and she joined Abby on the grass.

            Abby looked out over the lake. “I read in a history book that when Dumbledore first met Voldemort,” Liz winced, “he saw the makings of a great and powerful wizard with a few worrying tendencies. So much potential wasted on an arrogant fool.” Abby’s wand glowed a little brighter.

            Liz gasped.

            “To be so brilliant only to throw it away on something pointless. I once heard one of Harry Potter’s speeches as a child. Love conquers all. Love, a magic so powerful it could defeat Voldemort. When I first heard this I was four, and my mother was still alive. She was in tears and I didn’t understand. Maybe I was too young or maybe I just didn’t understand enough about magic. All I knew is that ultimately love won the war and it was over.

            “Then my mom was poisoned. We never found out who it was, they left no mark or trail. I was five. There was something she had kept secret and her past caught up to her. Even the Ministry couldn’t figure it out. My father was distant and I spent a lot of my time with my Godfather. He taught me a lot about the other side of magic.”

            Liz gasped again. “You mean the Dark Arts?”

            “No, the realities we live with in a magical world. We exist in a world where poisons and horrible curses exist. We live in a world where Voldemort was once as real as you or me. It was not love that ultimately defeated him. It was a series of great people doing great things and working together. Voldemort thought he alone could stand above any other, and perhaps he could, but he could not stand above that many people working together.

            “I think I can do better.”

            Liz went pale. “Abby… what are you talking about?”

            “You saw how easy it was for me to take care of Olivia. I’ve been learning to read people from the time I turned five. I want to do great things with my life and this place is the start. I want to rule Hogwarts by the end of my seventh year. I know that I have potential, and I will not waste it.”

            Liz moved backwards slightly. She then noticed Abby’s wand which was pulsating with silver light. As she looked at the wand, Abby slowly did the same. When she did, the light vanished in an instant and Abby lost consciousness.

 

 

**Chapter 8**

**The Vanishing Moments**

 

            Abby’s vision was dark. Then in front of her there was a tiny silver light. She tried to reach out and take it but she had no arms. She tried to look away but she couldn’t. Then there was that sensation again, that cold flame inside her. But now there was no body for it to inhabit. It just was. Then in an instant everything was real again and she sat upright in a bed in the Hospital Wing.

            “Abby!” Liz was sitting beside her. She jumped to her feet when Abby sat up. Then she noticed someone else. It was Gabe. He was still sitting.

            “What happened?” Gabe asked.

            Abby thought for a moment. What had happened? She was talking to Liz by the lake and then she was here. “I’m not really sure.”

            “Your wand was glowing and you were saying crazy things and then you just blacked out,” Liz said.

            Gabe nodded. “I saw you two sitting together when I was leaving Herbology. Then I saw Liz’s worried expression and you passed out. We carried you here.”

            Abby eyed Gabe. He was probably strong enough for that. But when she looked at Liz she found it hard to imagine her lifting much of anything. Then her thoughts caught up with the moment. “My wand glowed?” she asked.

            “It was giving off this silvery light,” Liz said. “I didn’t notice it right away but it was definitely glowing. But you were saying a bunch of dark things.”

            Abby remembered this. She hadn’t lied, but she was a little surprised at the thoughts. She found the idea of “ruling” a little silly. She didn’t want that much attention. “It’s all a little confusing to me,” she said.

            “If you’re okay, I’m going to go and see if I can catch the remainder of Charms,” Gabe said. “I’m sorry to run but it’s-”

            Abby smiled. “By all means, I understand. Thank you for helping me. I’ll see you tomorrow in potions.” Gabe’s face went red as he quickly left the room.

            Liz giggled and Abby quickly joined in. “He’s really taken a liking to you.” Liz said with a grin.

            Abby lay back on the bed. “It’s a tricky situation. He’s quite intelligent and well-read, especially considering he’s muggle-born. I don’t want him to think I’m leading him on but I do also want to be friends.”

            “Why not just tell him that?”

            Abby shrugged. “I suppose that would be the smart thing to do.”

            Liz smiled. “You’re an interesting person.”

            “You’re pretty fun yourself.”

            In following times Abby would come to remember that day. But there was one odd detail that she never seemed to remember when she looked back on it. As Liz was saying those words the sound of footsteps came towards them. But there wasn’t anyone that ever got to them.

 

***

 

            Potions came the following day bringing with it another odd moment. As Abby was walking to the classroom, she rounded a corner only to find herself facing the wrong direction. While confusing at first, she quickly brushed it off as getting lost in her own thoughts. She found her previous seat beside Gabe, once again before anyone else had arrived.

            Professor Walsh walked up to their table. “Good to see you two early again.”

            Abby smiled. “I’ve been waiting to brew something since I first started reading our textbook. My dad wouldn’t buy me any ingredients.”

            Professor Walsh laughed. “Well instruction is important too. Potions is a very subtle subject and those subtleties are often missed by people that only study the books.”

            Abby waved dismissively. “That doesn’t mean I don’t want to try.”

            “How well do you two know today’s potion?”

            “I think I can do it,” Gabe said with a hesitant expression.

            “I can.”

            “You’re that confident?” Professor Walsh raised an eyebrow.

            Abby nodded. “I think both of us can.”

            “Well if your confidence pays off I’ll be happy to award some much deserved points.”

            Other students began to enter the classroom and soon Professor Walsh had begun to give instructions and set them to brew a simple cure for boils. Abby and Gabe both worked carefully, trying to follow the instructions exactly. Several times Abby had to help Gabe, and a few times he returned the favour. Ultimately they reached the end of class and Professor Walsh began to circulate and examine the potions. Several people had created decent quality potions, notably most of the people Abby knew. A pair of Gryffindors in the back had both failed miserably and likely hadn’t followed the instructions at all, losing Gryffindor five points.

            Lastly Professor Walsh came to Abby and Gabe’s table and looked at both of their potions. He thought for a little while.

            “They’re not perfect but they’re the best first attempt I’ve seen. Ten points to Slytherin and Gryffindor.”

            Abby looked at Gabe who beamed back at her. She smiled. “We should work together more often.”

            “Y-yeah!” Gabe blurted out.

 

***

           

            The next period brought with it the first flying lesson for all the first years. Liz met up with Gabe and Abby after lunch and they all went out to the grounds to find dozens of brooms laying on the ground waiting. They found a spot they were happy with among the other students that had already arrived. All around them talks of Quidditch permeated the crowd. Abby noticed Beckett and Iranole having a heated discussion while Olivia looked around the rows of students slowly.

            Madam Hooch took her place in the centre of the students and blew her whistle, calming the crowd. “Alright! If everyone is ready we’ll begin.” There was a general nod of affirmation. “Good! Now everyone raise their right hand over their broom and say ‘up!’”

            “Up!” The unsynchronized chorus rang out.

            Liz’s broom shot into her hand in a moment. She smiled proudly.

            Gabe’s broom also shot up. He was surprised as it collided with his hand and stumbled slightly.

            Abby’s broom lifted slightly then flopped back onto the ground. She narrowed her gaze. “ _Up_!” The broom did as commanded and shot into her grip.

            Abby noticed Asher finally. She hadn’t seen what happened but his broom had risen into his hand.

            Once everyone had successfully taken hold of their broom Madam Hooch blew her whistle again. “Okay! Now, everyone mount your broom, kick off from the ground, hover for a few seconds, then touch back down on the ground. On my whistle!”

            Everyone tried at once. Liz rose gracefully into the air, as did Gabe, though he looked a lot more concerned about it. Abby was a little shaky, she honestly didn’t like the feeling of being airborne. She looked over and saw Asher lift off the ground, then slip off his broom and crash onto the ground. Several other students went this way, falling clumsily from their brooms.

            The lesson continued, and at the end, Abby bid farewell to Liz as she went off to Potions. Left with Gabe, the two went to find somewhere to study together.

 

***

 

            When she had bid farewell to Gabe, on her way back to the Slytherin common room, Abby found herself met by another odd incident. She had been about to enter the portrait hole but before she could say the password she suddenly found herself standing back several feet from the portrait. But soon after she had begun her homework and quickly forgot this strange event.

            The next day she met with Gabe and Liz for breakfast. They had planned to spend Saturday finishing their homework together. Liz admitted pretty quickly that she wanted Abby to teach her to use magic as well her. This came following their first charms lesson where Abby had earned Slytherin quite a few points. While they were all talking, an owl flew down and dropped a package in front of Abby. The three quickly stopped talking and Abby opened the attached letter.

 

            _Dear Abby,_

_I’ve finally found some leads. I’ve been working since you sent your letter and I’ve found something that can be the clue we need. If I’m right I should be able to figure it out before Christmas. With that being said we’ll need to take a bit of a trip over the holidays if this proves to be true. This trip could be dangerous, but since this is your wand now I know you deserve to go._

_Enclosed are the Standard Book of Spells Grades 2 and 3. I know this is a lot to ask of you but if you’re going to come with me into a potentially dangerous situation I want you to go in armed with more useful spells. As for how you should practice them you should probably learn with your friends as I’m sure you’ve made plenty by now._

_Send your reply as soon as possible and get started practicing if you want to help me solve this._

_Looking forward to your reply,_

_Oddball_

 

            “Who’s Oddball?” Gabe asked.

            “My godfather. He’s helping me figure out the origin of my wand.”

            “Oh yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that Abby,” Liz said.

            Abby turned.

            “Well you said you don’t know what the core is. Don’t you think this could be really dangerous after what happened? Maybe you should tell your godfather about it and see what he says before you decide.” Liz said with a concerned expression.

            Abby shook her head. “This wand is the only one that would respond to me. I don’t know why that is but this is my chance to figure it out. I want to know my fate. Now as for the important part. Would you two like to practice with me? We’ve got a lot spells to look through and who knows what kind of useful things we can learn to do!”

            Gabe nodded enthusiastically. “My parents always told me to keep myself ahead.”

            “That reminds me!” Liz looked at Gabe with curious eyes. “You’re muggle-born. What do your parents do?”

            Gabe looked away anxiously. “They’re… stockbrokers.”

            Liz tilted her head. Abby thought for a moment. She remembered a few conversations she had with Claudius about muggle money and the term sounded vaguely familiar.

            “People put their money into companies to help them, and they get money back as the company becomes worth more. My parents help people know which companies to put money into for better profits for a fee.” Gabe explained, clearly straining to make it as simple as possible.

            Abby nodded but Liz still looked confused. “Is that a good job?” Liz asked.

            “Well… um… we do have a lot of money.”

            “How much is a lot?” Abby asked.

            “I’d rather not talk about it. When we went to Gringotts for the first time my dad spent over an hour talking to a goblin about ‘magic money.’” Gabe sighed.

            Abby nodded. “Then let’s go and get this homework finished.”

 

***

 

            Saturday drifted on slowly. The three grew close quickly as they talked and laughed together. Abby led the three efficiently through the work, but Liz and Gabe often proved knowledgeable in their own ways. Liz also demonstrated through her first essay that her writing skills were considerably better than Abby’s or Gabe’s. Gabe had a knack for always knowing the things Abby forgot, and Liz seemed to know the perfect way to frame an idea. They were quite efficient as a team and by the end of the day they had caught up on most of their homework. They said their goodbyes and retired to their respective Houses.

            Abby walked through the dungeon corridors when she heard a strange sound from around a corner. She quickly moved up to the wall and looked out slowly.

            Professor Proxis and Professor Walsh were standing and facing each other. Proxis had his wand drawn and it looked like he had just disarmed Walsh. Proxis flicked his wand and Walsh was bound by ropes and fell onto the ground. “ _Silencio._ ”  He pointed his wand at Walsh’s face.

            Walsh tried to speak but was completely unable to.

            “Damn, I thought my illusion was strong enough to hold off sounds,” Proxis said turning to Abby.

            “What are you doing?” she asked, quickly drawing her wand. It jumped from her hand instantly and hit the ground like a stone.

            Proxis smiled. “Do you really think you could take me on in a duel?”

            Abby frowned. “What’s going on? Why is he tied up?”

            “We were having a little conversation. I needed to _borrow_ some things and he refused. Then he got a little aggressive for my liking. I cast a little enchantment to keep out anyone but apparently in the heat of the moment I made an error and some sound could escape. Seems you found us as a result.”

            Abby backed away slowly.

            “Ah, no you’re not just leaving.” He flicked his wand and her body froze. “Why is it _always_ you?”

            Abby couldn’t reply.

            “Three separate times I’ve had to wipe your mind already. I can’t have you going to tell Claudius.” He shook his head. “You’re just like your damned mother. Well, I guess I see a bit of Claudius in you too. His influence anyway…” He mused to himself as he studied Abby.

            He turned to Walsh and quickly gestured twice with his wand. With the first motion Walsh quickly fell unconscious and with the second he was hoisted up by his limbs like a marionette. “I’ll have to do some serious alterations to your memory.” He mused.

            He turned back to Abby. “Yours will be much easier. You’ll play it off like nothing happened and quickly forget. And thank goodness too. I can’t have you working against me when you’re so important to the plan. Well at least after tonight I won’t have to keep sneaking around. For now,” he walked over and levitated her with two quick wand motions. He led her carefully back to a good location in the other hall and set her down. “See you in class on Tuesday. _Obliviate._ ”

 

 

 

 

 

**Chapter 9**

**The Four Complete**

 

            On Sunday morning Abby awoke with a mild headache but no real idea as to why. She arrived in the Great Hall to find Gabe and Liz already deep in discussion. Abby sat down with them and started piling food onto her plate.

            “Abby, tell Gabe how great Quidditch is,” Liz insisted.

            Abby turned with a piece of toast in her mouth. “It’s interesting I suppose.”

            “But it sounds incredibly unbalanced,” Gabe said. “Why is the snitch worth so many points and why does the match need to end when it’s caught? Shouldn’t there be a kind of timer?”

            “Well, it’s a bit more complex than that.” Abby said. “For instance, here at Hogwarts it’s played as a league game where total points matter. In competitive leagues team skills can vary wildly and good teams can make up for a seeker and vice versa. It’s not like sports in the muggle world where you have a massive pool of people to pull from as players.”

            “You know a lot more than I would have expected,” Liz said.

            “My dad’s a big fan,” Abby replied as she went back to her breakfast.

            “We should go get some brooms and see what Gabe can do!” Liz insisted. “You saw Gabe at our flying lesson. He’s a natural.”

            “I’d certainly be interested,” Gabe said.

            “Oh… wait. I doubt we’ll be able to find a teacher that will let us take out brooms,” Liz said dejectedly.

            Abby tapped Liz on the shoulder. “Professor Proxis said he’d help me out if I needed it. He’s a friend of my godfather’s.”

            “What are we waiting for then?” Liz jumped to her feet.

            “Can I finish my food please?” Abby asked in an even tone.

            “Ah, right, sorry.” Liz sat back down. “I’m just excited. I’ll need someone to practice with if I’m going to make the Hufflepuff team.”

            “You’re going to try out?” Abby eyed her curiously. “Which position?”

            “Beater,” Liz said with a wide grin. “I’m very good at hitting things.”

            Gabe inched away slightly. “I’m not sure what I would even consider playing.”

            “If you think the snitch is so important to the game why not be a seeker?” Liz asked. “It’ll be pretty easy to tell if you’ve got a talent for it. I’ll just hit some stones or something and see if you can catch them.”

            “I’m not sure I’m okay with you hitting rocks at me.”

            “Not _at_ you. You have to fly towards where they’re going and catch them.”

            “Ideally I’d enchant something for you…” Abby mused.

            “You can do that!?” Liz spun around.

            “No… but I’m working on it. Levitation charms are a lot more complicated than you’d think. I started skimming through those new textbooks and there’s a _lot_ to work through.”

            “You’re going to be really far ahead at this rate,” Gabe said. “Shouldn’t you slow down? Obsession isn’t good.”

            “Ah, right, sorry. I get a little carried away,” Abby said anxiously. “I spent the last month of summer reading my textbooks.”

            “Don’t you have anyone at home to spend time with?” Liz asked bluntly.

            “I mainly spend time at my godfather’s shop. My dad works long days at the ministry helping to change some of the more deeply rooted laws in Britain.”

            “But what about other kids?” Gabe asked. “Didn’t you go to school or anything?”

            “My godfather taught me when there was nothing else to do. He’s a half-blood and knows a lot about muggle life and history. He basically home-schooled me so I know a lot about both worlds.”

            “No wonder you’re so weird,” Liz said with a shrug. “What was your mom like?”

            “I don’t really know much about her. She died when I was five and I don’t have a lot of memories of her. My dad and my godfather both don’t talk about her much. All I know is that she fled Britain when Voldemort first came back.”

            “So that’s where your accent’s from!” Gabe slammed his fist into the table. “That’s been bothering me but I thought it would be rude to ask.”

            Abby shook her head and went back to her food. Liz turned back to Gabe and resumed their discussion. After a few minutes someone tapped on Abby’s shoulder. She turned and looked up to see Asher.

            “Hi, Abby, right?” he asked pleasantly. Liz turned around and eyed him carefully.

            “Yeah,” Abby said setting down her food again with a slightly annoyed sigh.

            “I was wondering about the rumours circulating that you’re some amazing duellist,” he said as plainly as he could manage. “Word’s even hit the Ravenclaw common room about a first year that floored someone with a shield charm.”

            “Oh, that. Yeah it was me, what about it?” Abby asked taking a bite of toast.

            Asher paused.

            Liz nudged Abby in the side. “He wants to challenge you, Abby! Take him on!”

            Asher frowned. “I most certainly did not come here to challenge someone to a duel. I wanted to know if you’d be interested in studying together today.”

            “What about the other Ravenclaws?” Abby asked.

            “They’re a tad dry. Though, I could ask all three of you the same question about your Houses.” Asher gestured at Liz and Gabe. The mix matched colours of their robes was suddenly all Abby could see.

            “I’d rather be friends with people that make an impression,” Abby said with a grin. She turned to Liz and Gabe. “What do you two think, should we let him join us?”

            Liz stood up and walked up to Asher. She was a little shorter but she had an authority about her. “Dunno, what’s your name?”

            “Asher.”

            “I like him,” Liz said with a nod.

            Gabe smiled up at them. “I’ve got no problems with it either.”

            “Looks like you’re one of us now,” Abby said with a grin. “Have a seat.”

            “One of you?” Asher asked as he sat down. “Are you already a gang?”

            Abby turned with a sinister grin. “No, nothing like that. But we have the potential to do some great things while we’re here, and we’re going to make sure we do them all.”

            “Oh? That sounds more interesting than just studying.”

            “We were just about to head outside so Liz can test Gabe’s flying skills. I’ll tell you a bit about what I’d like to do while they’re training.”

 

***

 

            After a quick trip to Proxis’ office, the four set off for somewhere comfortable to test Gabe. Abby and Asher sat against a tree while Liz hovered nearby on one of the brooms with a large stick held in her hand like a club. Gabe stood nervously beside his broom looking up at Liz.

            “Are you sure this is a good idea?” he asked, eyeing the stones in Liz’s off hand.

            “Don’t make me start hitting these _at_ you. We already got the brooms, we might as well try,” Liz called down.

            “I think he’s got a good chance,” Abby said to Asher.

            “How can you tell?” Asher asked as Gabe drifted gently into the air.

            “Call it a hunch,” Abby watched as Liz hit the first stone and Gabe darted over and caught it. He looked at the stone in his hand with wide eyes.

            Liz cheered. “I knew it!” She hit another and Gabe caught it like the first. Liz beamed at him.

            Asher turned to Abby. “Seems you were right.”

            “I usually am,” Abby said casually.

            “So why don’t you tell me a little about these plans of yours,” he added as Gabe caught his third stone.

            “Well, I think the four of us are smart enough and have enough potential to do some great things. The story you heard that brought you to me, it probably assumed I had won a duel, right?”

            Asher nodded.

            “All I actually did was bait someone that wanted to antagonize me and punish them for their stupidity. I showed her just how much more powerful I am than her and probably a lot of the other students here.”

            “You seem pretty confident of that,” Asher said with a grin.

            Abby took out her wand. “Every wand I tried rejected me until I was handed this. My godfather was sold this wand about ten years ago and no one knows what the core is. No one can even produce magic with it. No one but me. Such a unique and powerful tool has fallen into my path; I have to believe that it means something.”

            “May I see your wand?” Asher asked.

            Abby nodded and handed him the strange, petrified wand. He looked it over slowly then waved it. After nothing happened he handed it back to Abby.

            “How strange, it feels almost dead,” he said with a look of consuming curiosity on his face.

            Abby waved the wand and the air shimmered with silver sparks. “There is something unique about me, and I want to make that known. I will be the top student here when I’m done. That’s why I invited Gabe to study with Liz and me. He’s as fantastic at Potions as I am. I had honestly hoped you would join once I learned of your skill at Herbology. I think the four of us will be far greater together than we ever could be on our own.”

            “I agree,” Asher looked up and noticed that Liz and Gabe had gotten a lot more aggressive in their practice. Liz was now hitting stones much harder and farther away and Gabe was still catching them without much struggle. She looked like she was quite into it.

            Abby looked up. “How’d he do, Liz?”

            Liz looked like she snapped out of a trance as she looked down at Abby and Asher. “Oh! He’s… quite good.”

            Gabe flew over to Liz’s side and handed her three rocks. “This is fun,” he said with a broad smile. “Maybe I’ll try out for the Gryffindor team.”

            Liz grinned. “Maybe we’ll get to play against each other.”

            Asher thought for a moment then turned to Abby with a playful grin. “Hey, wanna bet on who makes it onto a team?”

            Abby looked up. “I say Gabe makes it on for sure.”

            “What about me!?” Liz floated down and landed. Gabe landed a moment later.

            “I think you also have a fine chance, but I’d only put money on Gabe,” Abby said with a shrug.

            Liz frowned and crossed her arms. Asher and Gabe laughed. “I’ll take that bet. There’s no way a first year gets onto the Gryffindor team,” Asher said confidently.

            “Don’t be so sure,” Liz said. “My brother told me they don’t have a seeker returning this year.” Asher scratched his chin at this and began to think quietly.

            “You have a brother?” Abby asked.

            “Yeah, he’s an ass. End of story,” Liz said, dropping her smile. “But he does know about Quidditch at this school.”

            “I could help deal with him like I dealt with Olivia if you’d like,” Abby offered with her devilish grin.

            “He’s in fifth year, I doubt you could beat him magically,” Liz said.

            “Every situation offers many unique solutions. If you change your mind, just ask and we’ll make something work,” Abby said.

            “I’ll still take the bet,” Asher said. “How about three galleons?”

            Abby turned and shook Asher’s hand. “You’re on. Gabe, don’t let me down.”

            Gabe went a little pale. “Wait, I wasn’t…”

            “Too late, get on that team. I want my own money for once,” Abby said with a narrow gaze.

            “I’ll try, but I can’t promise anything.”

            “Just do your best,” Asher said.

            “Hey if you’re done, we should go and try out disarming charms,” Abby said. “I was flipping through those spell books and I think it’s a great starting point.”

            “Spell books?” Asher asked.

            “My uncle and I are going on a trip over Christmas holidays and he wants me to know some more advanced magic than just first year. Would you like to join?”

            Asher nodded and the four set off to practice.

 

***

 

            The four arrived at Proxis’ office to return the brooms only to find the door already open and a conversation going on inside. Abby pushed the door open and they saw Proxis talking to a man that didn’t work at Hogwarts. He had short, bright red hair and dark brown eyes. He was wearing an orange and black robe that looked custom-made and he had an oddly pointed face.

            “Of all the stupid things to do, you decide teaching is the best thing to do with your time?” the man asked. He looked angry, but his face wasn’t flushed at all. It was more like he was disgusted.

            “Shaping the minds of the youth is important,” Proxis replied lazily.

            “Not to you. You have some larger plan don’t you?”

            Proxis turned to the door to see the four standing there. He smiled and turned back to the man. “Don’t lose any sleep over any of this. It’s just a little project.”

            The man looked over at Abby. His eyes met hers for a few moments then he turned and walked to the fireplace. He reached into his robe’s inner pocket, produced a small handful of floo powder, cast it into the flames and vanished without another word.

            “Who’s that, Professor?” Liz asked.

            “An acquaintance of mine. He and I haven’t spoken in a while and he was never a particular fan of teaching or teachers in general,” Proxis stood from his desk. He flicked his wand and the brooms drifted over to the wall and leaned up against it. “How was your practice?”

            “Gabe did great!” Liz said happily. “He’s going to try out for the Gryffindor team.”

            Proxis smiled a knowing smile. “Well I can’t wait to see that. When are try-outs?”

            “Hufflepuff’s is next weekend so I bet theirs is too. He still has to sign up.”

            “Best of luck to you, Gabe,” Proxis said. “Is there anything else I can do for you today?”

            Abby nodded. “If we could use a spare classroom to practice some spells that would be great.”

            “Of course, let’s go find you one.”

 

***

 

            “Come on Abby, duel him,” Liz insisted.

            Abby and Asher stood opposite each other in the empty classroom Proxis had found for them. Abby had her arms crossed and Asher had drawn his wand in challenge.

            “It’s dangerous,” Abby said. “I think we should just practice something simple first. Once we all know how to disarm then it might be okay to duel.”

            “So your godfather sent you these textbooks to study in addition to all your normal schoolwork?” Asher asked. “That’s an awful lot of extra work.”

            “He just wants me to know some extra spells. I don’t have to learn everything in there,” Abby said.

            Gabe was looking through The Standard Book of Spells Grade 2 from a seat against the wall. He looked up. “This is all pretty simple. Nothing much more complex than the first year spells.”

            “You seem pretty confident,” Liz said. “This feels like a lot of extra studying.”

            “No one is making you learn this,” Abby said with a raised eyebrow. “Once we get ahead of everyone else we’ll be able to start having some real fun though.”

            Asher grinned. “So let’s get practicing.”

            “Disarming is pretty simple so we’ll start there. Do you three feel confident enough to try?” Abby asked.

            Asher smiled and nodded.

            Liz shuffled her feet and avoided Abby’s gaze.

            Gabe shook his head. “You three have way more experience than I do. I didn’t even know that I was a wizard a few months ago.”

            Liz grabbed Gabe’s wrist and pulled him to his feet. “Then you’re going first!” she said happily. “Disarm Abby.” She pointed across the room at Abby who had just drawn her wand.

            Gabe hesitated.

            Abby held her wand aloft. “Come on, if you don’t try I’ll try on you.”

            “ _Expelliarmus!_ ” Gabe shouted, pointing his wand at Abby and closing his eyes. There was a flicker of light and Abby’s wand twitched slightly in her hand.

            Abby looked at her wand then pointed it at Gabe. “My turn. _Expelliarmus!_ ” Some silver wisps of light escaped the tip of her wand, but nothing happened. She looked at her wand with a slightly dejected look.

            Asher turned to Liz. “Come on, we should try too.” The two paired up and both attempted the spell to no avail. Abby and Gabe both returned to their attempts. They would try, fail, check the book, and then try again. After two hours had passed, Liz’s stomach began to growl.

            “Can we go get some lunch?” Liz asked, taking a seat by the wall. “This is tiring and kind of disheartening.”

            “Did you think we’d just suddenly be able to cast these spells?” Abby asked. “This is a year above us. I’ve only just learned how to do a basic levitation charm. We’ll likely be at this for a few days. Let’s go and eat lunch.”

            They all agreed and set off for the Great Hall.

 

***

            They all looked around the hall and ended up deciding to sit at the Hufflepuff table. Abby was mostly watching people in silence, Gabe was absorbed in the textbook, and Liz and Asher were having a discussion about their families. Liz had heard of Asher’s father and was grilling him with question after question. Abby tuned most of it out and instead just listened to the white noise of the hall. She looked over at the Slytherin table and saw Beckett and Olivia having a heated discussion. She kind of wondered what it was about until Olivia turned and stared her directly in the eye. They were talking about her. Abby smiled and waved. Olivia went red and furiously turned back to Beckett.

            For about fifteen minutes nothing else happened. Abby just watched students drift idly in and out of the hall, eating their midday meal. Then, finally, it happened. Beckett stood up and walked over to Abby and her friends with Olivia at his side.

            He stood looking down at Abby. “So, you’re not eating at the Slytherin table.”

            “Nope,” Abby said plainly. She looked up at him with a blank expression. Liz and Asher stopped talking and turned to their new guests. “I’d rather eat with my friends,” she added as an afterthought.

            Olivia was staring daggers at her but saying nothing.

            “Olivia, lovely to see you,” Abby said with a smile. “What brings you here?”

            “I want payback,” she said coldly.

            Abby laughed. “For what? Getting yourself sent to the hospital wing?”

            Olivia went even redder. “You made me look like an _idiot_!”

            “No, _you_ made yourself look like an idiot. I just helped,” Abby said plainly. Liz giggled.

            “At least give her a chance to fight you fair and square,” Beckett said. “It’s all she’s talked about since it happened.”

            Abby eyed Beckett. He seemed pretty reasonable, though she wasn’t sure why he was wasting his time with Olivia. She shrugged off the thought. “No, I’m not wasting my time with you, Olivia.”

            Olivia drew her wand. “I will end you.”

            Asher and Liz stood up, drawing their wands. Gabe looked up from the book. Abby looked over at Gabe. “I have a neat idea. How about you duel Gabe?”

            “What!?” Gabe looked around anxiously. “Why me!? I’ve never even duelled before!”

            “Yeah, why him?” Olivia asked.

            “Because he needs motivation and experience to bring out his potential. Come on Gabe, she’s a pushover,” Abby said. She gave him a knowing look. He had come closer than any of them to successfully disarming his opponent.

            “Do it Gabe!” a voice called from the Gryffindor table. Everyone turned to see the majority of the Gryffindor table looking over at the confrontation. They had drawn a lot of attention. More voices called over in support.

            “I understand if you’re scared, Olivia,” Abby said with a smirk.

            Olivia pointed her wand at Gabe. “Fine! You and me, outside, ten minutes.” With that she stormed off with Beckett following nervously behind.

            Gabe looked at Abby with a horrified expression. “What the bloody _hell_ is wrong with you, Abby?”

            “You can do this. Of all of us you’ve come closest to a disarming charm,” Abby said with a motivating smile.

            “But what if I try and fail!?” Gabe looked over at the Gryffindor table. “They’re all going to be watching…”

            “So don’t fail,” Abby said with a shrug. She finished her food and stood up. “Come on, we don’t want to be late.”

            Liz walked over and dragged Gabe to his feet. The four left the Great Hall and walked outside, followed by several Gryffindors that looked like they were going to report back to the rest when it was over.

            They found Olivia waiting outside in the sun with her wand drawn and her arms crossed.

            “So, are we actually going to do this?” she asked impatiently.

            Abby pushed Gabe forward. “I have total faith in you,” she whispered.

            Gabe’s anxiety seemed to wane at these words. He drew his wand and brought his back up confidently. “I’m ready.”

            Olivia smiled and bowed. Gabe returned the gesture. The two rose, locked eyes, and then…

            “ _EXPELLIARMUS!_ ” Gabe cried as he thrust his wand at Olivia. A burst of white light shot from it and collided with her, knocking her off her feet. Her wand landed several feet away as she hit the ground.

            The Gryffindors and Liz cheered wildly. Asher nodded approvingly and Abby put her hand on Gabe’s shoulder. “Told you so,” she said.

           

 

 

 

**Chapter 10**

**Beater and Seeker**

 

            Word of Gabe’s victory spread like wildfire. He was now not only one of the brightest first year students; he was also a surprisingly gifted duellist in the eyes of his peers. He had quickly managed to teach Abby and the others how to disarm since he had it figured out and the four began to practice more complicated spells.

            Once Tuesday came around finally, Abby had her first Transfiguration lesson among the Slytherins. It was her first chance to see Proxis teach and she was endlessly curious was she was about to see. She was not disappointed. He was skilled in a way that no one had expected. He effortlessly turned a desk into a sheep then with several swift wand motions he turned the sheep’s wool into a flock of doves. With another wave of his wand the doves drifted to the ground as lone feathers and the sheep returned to being a desk. While the work was considerably more boring, Abby had gained an even greater respect for Proxis.

            As the week drifted on, Quidditch try-outs grew closer. Liz and Gabe both practiced as much as they could in their free time while Asher and Abby practiced their spells. Asher was quickly catching up to Abby and had even managed to conjure a thin, flickering shield after many attempts at a shield charm. By the end of their second week at Hogwarts the four had grown close and spent almost all of their free time together. In the classes they shared they performed better than any other in their year and began to earn a reputation among the teachers. Olivia had gone completely silent after her loss against Gabe making Abby wonder what she could be planning.

            Then came their second Saturday and the Hufflepuff Quidditch try-outs. Abby, Gabe, and Asher accompanied a bright-eyed Liz to the pitch just after lunch. They arrived to find a pretty large selection of students coming to try out and Liz’s expression quickly changed to one of anxiety and stress.

            She looked around and sighed. “What am I doing here?” she muttered quietly under her breath.

            Abby punched her in the arm. “Stop that, you know you can do this.”

            Liz turned to Gabe and Asher who both gave her affirming nods. She took a deep breath. “Will you stay here until my turn comes up?” she asked no one in particular.

            “I will,” Abby said.

            “We’ll be up in the stands watching,” Gabe said. “I want to get the best view possible so I can be prepared for tomorrow’s try-outs. Remember, we believe in you.” With that Gabe and Asher climbed up into the stands to find a good seat. They ended up sitting near a boy with blue hair and his friends who were all talking and laughing loudly.

            Liz was too nervous to watch the majority of the try-outs. She spent most of her time talking quietly with Abby and trying not to make eye contact with the three large boys that looked like they were all trying out for the Beater position. Everyone was giving Liz sideways looks as she tried to awkwardly pretend she was just there by coincidence.

            “Stop acting so weird,” Abby said plainly taking a look at the competition.

            At that moment a tall, muscular boy walked up to Liz and the three others. He had short brown hair and eyes of a matching tone. His skin was evenly tanned from long days in the sun and he had a Quidditch captain badge pinned to his robe. He looked like he was probably in his sixth year.

            “Alright, time for the Beaters. We’ll release one bludger and you’ll complete two laps of the pitch while fending it off. Understood?”

            Abby patted Liz on the shoulder. “Just remember to breathe,” she whispered to Liz. “I’ll be up with Gabe and Asher.” Liz nodded and Abby set off to join her other friends.

            By the time Abby reached the top of the stands where Gabe and Asher sat the first person had already completed their first lap. She looked out over the pitch to see him get a nice clean hit on the bludger as it shot towards him.

            “There’s some good potential in this team,” Asher said.

            “You follow Quidditch?” Abby asked as she sat down beside him.

            “Not really, but I know talent when I see it.”

            “How’s Liz?” Gabe asked.

            “Nervous but she’ll be fine,” Abby said with a confident smile. The first person finished their trial and landed by the captain and the others. It seemed like he did pretty well. They watched as the second and third boys took their flights around the pitch. The second was a little better than the first, but the third was considerably worse, ultimately taking a bludger to the arm before landing and being sent to the Hospital Wing. Then it came to Liz’s turn. She looked up at her friends in the stands and steeled herself.

            Liz kicked off the ground, rising into the air slowly, then shooting off as soon as the bludger was released. She kept her wits about her, looking around constantly and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. As the bludger moved in to strike, she swiped with her club and sent it spiralling away. She could hear her friends cheering from the stands as she pressed onward, thinking only about the moment. She cleared her mind of everything else. As the bludger came around for its second attempt, Liz effortlessly struck it in the dead centre and sent it away again. This time more people cheered. As she approached the end of her first lap the bludger lined up behind her and began to close in. With a cocky grin, she twisted around and hit it away again, resuming her flight effortlessly.

            “She’s better than I thought,” Abby mused.

            Gabe watched in awe as Liz shot into her second lap with about half the Hufflepuff team cheering. She got another successful hit and waved down to the crowd as it spun away from her. This time, however, she had only grazed the bewitched ball and it doubled back for another hit. Not noticing she turned and waved to the cheering crowd, She had, however, become too focused on them and the bludger collided with her offhand shoulder. With a sickening crack, she was knocked from her broom and landed in the warm grass below.

            By the time Abby, Gabe, and Asher managed to get to Liz the captain had already flipped her over and gotten a good look at the broken shoulder. Liz was completely unconscious. In the end she was brought to the Hospital Wing and left with her friends.

 

***

 

            Liz woke up just under an hour later in a haze. “What… happened?”

            Abby smirked a little. “You got cocky and took a bludger to the shoulder. Shattered it and knocked you to the ground.”

            Liz flipped over and buried her face in her pillow with a groan. There was still a fairly large amount of grass visible in her blonde hair.

            Gabe patted her back. “There’s always next year.”

            Liz groaned again. “I’m an idiot,” she said, muffled by the pillow.

            The door to the Hospital Wing opened and someone walked in. Abby turned to see the captain of the Hufflepuff team walk in. He walked to the other person from the try-outs who had gotten injured, said a few quiet words to them and then walked over to Liz and her friends.

            He looked at Liz lying face down and smiled hesitantly. “Glad you’re awake.”

            Liz flipped over at the sound of the voice. Her eyes met his with a look of utter defeat. “Hi, thanks for visiting me,” she said quietly. “Hopefully I’ll do better next year.”

            He smiled and held out his hand. “Well I was hoping you’d join us this year. Provided the injury hasn’t put you off.”

            Liz shot up in her bed. “Really!?”

            He chuckled. “Well, you’re clearly quite talented, especially for a first year. You have some obvious problems with overconfidence and showing off but we can file down those edges. I’d like to see how you do in practice with the rest of the team. If you can deliver on the talent you displayed we’d be happy to have you. What do you say?”

            “Of course!”

            “Then it’s lovely to properly meet you…” he paused.

            “Elizabeth. Call me Liz.”

            “And you can call me Alex. Or captain if you’d like to be professional about it. Anyway I have some things to take care of now that I have my team list. We’ll talk more once I get a date for our first practice.” Alex smiled and left the wing.

            Liz beamed at her friends. She had done something spectacular, and the four spent the rest of the day celebrating.

 

***

 

            The following day brought the Gryffindor try-outs. Gabe was faring much worse than Liz, however. His nervousness was showing and there was nothing he could do to hide it. He had even begun to sweat as they left the school. By the time they reached the pitch, it was all his friends could do to keep him from turning and running in the other direction.

            “Gabe, what’s the worst that can happen?” Abby asked.

            “Liz ended up in the Hospital Wing yesterday!” he protested.

            “And she’s fine now. _And_ she got onto the team,” Abby retorted. “We’re not letting you get out of this. You can do it. Just like how you beat Olivia.”

            “But-”

            “No buts, we’re here,” Abby pointed at the crowd that had gathered. Oddly, instead of the loud and random mix of voices that they found at the Hufflepuff try-outs, they were met with quiet murmurs.

            “No one?” a voice asked from the centre of the crowd. “Not one of you is here to try out for Seeker?”

            Everyone looked around at each other anxiously. Abby turned to Gabe and gave him a quiet thumbs up.

            “They’re afraid,” a new voice said from outside the group.

            Everyone turned to see a tall, older boy in Slytherin robes. He was reasonably handsome with pale skin, dark hair, and dark green eyes. His smile at the team’s situation showed that he was more than aware of the circumstances they were facing. “You lost your best Seeker since Potter last year and now no one wants to follow in their footsteps,” he mocked. “Your team will be garbage this year just like it was last year. It might even be worse without a competent leader.”

            The Gryffindor captain walked over and stood eye to eye with the Slytherin boy. They were roughly the same height, but the Gryffindor captain’s hair and eyes both seemed much lighter by contrast. His hair was a dark blonde and his eyes seemed familiar when Abby saw them. They were the same blue as Liz’s. “What are you doing here?” he demanded.

            “Just visiting. I wanted to see if you’d pull together a team. Looks like you’re not so lucky.”

            Gabe took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “I’m here to try out for Seeker,” he said with a loud and commanding voice. Everyone immediately turned, and he opened his eyes to see everyone staring directly at him. He recoiled a little at the sight.

            “You are?” the Gryffindor captain turned and eyed Gabe with wide eyes. “Please tell me you’re good.”

            “Er…” Gabe hesitated.

            “He’s great,” Abby said with a nod. “Give him a shot.”

            “I don’t know about this,” Gabe said.

            “Where’s your broom?” the captain asked.

            “I’m a first-year, I need to borrow one,” Gabe said nervously. The Slytherin boy snickered.

            “How much experience do you have?”

            Gabe hesitated. “About a week.”

            The Slytherin boy burst out laughing. “Tough competition this year,” he jeered. “Enjoy your try-outs and I’ll see you on the pitch.” He sneered at the captain and then walked away with his arms behind his head laughing to himself.

            The captain eyed Gabe. “I suppose we should see what you can do,” he said with a defeated sigh. He let his gaze drift to everyone that had come with Gabe then jumped slightly with realization. “Liz?”

            “Hi Sam,” Liz said with no excitement whatsoever.

            “Why are you here?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

            “To support my friend,” she said narrowing her gaze.

            Sam turned to Gabe. “Well let’s see what you can do.” He walked to the case of balls and removed the snitch. He walked back over to Gabe and handed over his broom. “I’ll release this, and you see how long it takes you to catch it.”

            Gabe looked at the broom and felt a wave of nausea spread over him. “Um…” he began.

            Abby punched him in the shoulder. “Gabe, be quiet and win me that money.”

            Gabe turned to her and frowned. “Is that all you care about?”

            Abby looked him dead in the eyes. “Yes. Do you know why? You clearly only care about yourself in this situation so why should anyone act any differently?” Hidden in her robes, Abby’s wand began to emit its quiet silver radiance. “You will not squander your abilities and call yourself my friend. Now get on that broom and show everyone here what you can do.”

            Gabe was so taken aback that he forgot to speak for several seconds. Eventually he snapped out of it and nodded confidently.

            Sam held the snitch in the air slightly above himself and let go. It flitted gently in the air as Gabe mounted his broom, then as he kicked off it darted away in a quick flash of gold. Gabe shot across the pitch as everyone watched silently. He stayed right behind the tiny golden ball, barely wavering from his path. Abby watched as he followed the snitch almost entirely on instinct, swaying slightly every time he overthought his movements. For a while it was unclear if he could actually catch the snitch, but then he slowly gained on it. As he reached out with his right arm every Gryffindor looked up expectantly. Then, in one brief moment, his hand closed around the snitch, and everyone exploded in cheers.

            Gabe landed in the centre of the crowd and they all immediately surrounded him, leaving Abby, Liz, and Asher on the outside of the group.

            Asher shrugged and handed Abby three galleons. “I’ll win it back some other time.”

            Abby smiled and tucked the coins away. “You can try. I suppose we’ll have plenty of chances with these two playing.”

            “Next time you better bet on me,” Liz said, crossing her arms.

            Abby shrugged. “Maybe I will.”

 

***

 

            September drifted by lazily after that day. The four fell into a routine of studying and practicing. By the time mid-October hit they were pretty far ahead of their year. Each of them consistently astounded their professors. Gabe had become something of a celebrity among the Gryffindors after duelling Olivia and making taking up the mantle of seeker on the Quidditch team. Abby and the others hadn’t been able to join Gabe for Gryffindor practice but the rumours of his skill had spread pretty rapidly.

            A week before Halloween, with the Quidditch season beginning in just a few weeks, Gabe and Liz had decided to train together. This left Abby and Asher alone in an empty classroom they had asked to use. Abby decided she preferred to avoid the library and the other students in it.

            Abby was reading her Standard Book of Spells Grade 3 and Asher was combing through his Potions textbook. Despite studying with Abby and Gabe, Asher and Liz found themselves struggling with Potions. Luckily they shared the class and could at least work together.

            After a while, Asher let out a groan and set his book down. “I need a break,” he said rubbing his eyes.

            Abby set down her book and looked up at him. “You could join Liz and Gabe outside.”

            He groaned again. “The last thing I want is to get between those two when they’re in the middle of training. Liz scares me a little.”

            “She does have a certain fire doesn’t she?” Abby said knowingly.

            “I’ve been meaning to ask. I understand why Gabe and I caught your interest, but why Liz?”

            “Do you think I only sought out people with immediately visible gifts?” Abby shut her book and smiled.

            “So why then?”

            Abby drew her wand. “I follow my wand’s lead. I let it trace a path through life and I follow along after.”

            “Aren’t the wand and owner supposed to work together?”

            “Not in my case,” Abby said, eyeing her wand. “A petrified wand, completely unchanging no matter what I do. It does not seek to learn from me. Instead it only pulls me forward.”

            “How odd. And it led you to us?”

            “Not exactly. But I was told to welcome new experiences with open arms. If Ollivander and my godfather are right then the path I should take is obvious. Call it what you will but from the moment I met you three I knew you were the ones I’m meant to work with.”

            “That’s quite the bit of blind faith.”

            Abby gently swished her wand through the air and it began to glow faintly with its silver light. “To call it blind is to forget the things we cannot see. The proof is clear to me. Perhaps only I can see it because only I can use this wand.”

            Asher looked at the glowing wand with curiosity. “Why does it glow like that?”

            Abby held it aloft. “I’m not sure yet. The only other time I saw it do this was when I was speaking to Liz about my mother and what I did to deal with Olivia.”

            “Ah yes, her. Speaking of Olivia, have you seen or heard anything from her?”

            “Not yet. But she’s working on something. I’m sure of it.”

            “Why bother with her at all?” Asher asked pointedly.

            Abby chuckled and the wand grew a little brighter. “Well I can’t deny that my dislike of her is a little excessive. Personally I just feel that anyone so self-absorbed should be put in their place as regularly as possible.” And she just liked the power, she thought.

            “But what if she never learns? What if she just keeps trying to get back at you?”

            “Then I will follow through on my threat. Every time she crosses me, I will turn her plan against her and destroy her completely. She will find only suffering if she wishes to cross my path,” Abby’s smile had grown sinister, and her eyes had lit up with a strange cold eminence.

            Asher crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “I certainly see your Slytherin side now. While it might be obsessive, I do appreciate your thoroughness. That said I can’t imagine her providing much enjoyment. Have you given much more thought to other long-term plans?”

            Abby twirled her wand between her fingers. The faint glow left a trail of shimmering wisps behind it. “Yes, I’ve given it a little thought. A good starting point will be finding a way to raise some money.”

            “I don’t think my parents will be happy to give me money for your schemes.”

            “Of course not,” Abby laughed. “We’ll make our own. You gave me the idea.” She reached into her robe pocket and took out the galleons she had won from Asher weeks prior.

            “Gambling?”

            “Being close to Gabe and Liz gives us insight into half the teams at this school. That’s a huge information advantage. If we can find a good betting situation I’m sure we can get ourselves a decent starting pool.”

            Asher thought for a moment. “How do we find somewhere to bet?”

            “There must be someone we can talk to about it. If anyone would hide betting in this school it would be the Slytherins. I’ll look into it and report back.”

            “And what if we go broke immediately?”

            “We won’t.” Abby pointed her wand at Asher. Its ominous glow unnerved him to the core. He shivered. “Trust the wand,” she said. As the words left her lips, the wand ceased to glow.

            “And you have no idea what the core of that wand is?”

            Abby slid the wand back into her robes. “All we know is that whatever it is will kill unworthy wood when presented before it.”

            “I can’t speak to what it is, but I can certainly say that it’s cold in a way I’ve never experienced.”

            Abby nodded. “I feel its power as a cold flame that radiates from within me. Oddly, that same power seems to shun all other wands.”

            “I suppose only time can explain the curiosities of your wand.”

            “My godfather and I are working on it. I’m hoping we’ll figure it out over Christmas.”

            As Abby was talking, Gabe and Liz walked into the classroom with their brooms. Following his placement on the team, Gabe’s parents had purchased him a Nimbus two thousand and ten racing broom. How two muggles had managed this escaped Gabe, Liz, and Asher, but Abby was pretty sure she knew what happened. When the broom arrived earlier that week, it had been Proxis that helped Gabe get permission to keep it.

            On top of that, she thought, Proxis seemed almost omnipresent when the four needed something. Something in Abby’s mind itched when she thought about Proxis. His actions were so simple, and yet it felt like a pattern she was just barely unable to see.

            “This isn’t fair, I need a better broom too! It’s the only reason you’re better,” Liz protested as they walked into the room and sat down.

            Asher snickered. “You’re jealous of Gabe?”

            “No. I’m jealous of his broom,” Liz said, crossing her arms.

            “Same thing,” Abby said. “I’m sure you’ll be able to get a better one next year. Or maybe your parents will get you one for Christmas.”

            “Maybe I should talk to Professor Proxis. He seems really nice,” Liz said thoughtfully.

            “Or maybe you should be glad you made the team and count your blessings,” Gabe said quietly.

            Liz stared daggers at Gabe. “Hush. Your luck is way too good to talk.”

            “This is not _luck_ ,” Gabe said evenly.

            Abby looked at the two sitting side by side against the wall with their brooms propped up beside them. “Technically you are pretty lucky, Gabe. That said, he’s right Liz.”

            “No one asked you!” Liz stood up. “You’re on my side, right Asher?” She pointed at Asher who looked around uncomfortably.

            “Er… yes,” Asher said with a slight nod.

            “See? Asher agrees,” Liz said with a proud grin.

            “So who starts the Quidditch season?” Abby asked.

            “Slytherin plays Gryffindor,” Gabe said nervously. “Liz’s brother is really fired up about it. Something about that Slytherin captain really makes him angry.”

            Liz sat back down and rolled her eyes. “I can tell you plenty about him. Sam never shut up about him over the summer.”

            “I’ve been wondering about him since we saw him at the try-outs,” Abby said. “He strikes me as the exact kind of person that would take a bet.”

            “You’d be right there,” Liz said plainly. “Darius has been on the Slytherin team for the last two years and captained it last year. Despite being a terrible student he’s pretty competent as a Quidditch captain. With a full year of experience I wonder how much better he’ll be this year.”

            Abby grinned. “Now I just need to know if he’s the kind of person that would hold up his end of a bet.”

            Liz raised an eyebrow. “You’re betting on Gabe again?”

            “Abby!” Gabe stood up. “At least ask me first!”

            “I was going to once I had an actual plan,” Abby said with a shrug. “Besides I only had the idea two days ago.”

            “He’ll pay back a bet,” Liz interjected. “His dad’s on the Board of Governors. It wouldn’t look very good if he were to be accused of stepping out of line. Especially considering his academic standing.”

            “Alright, who’s got money?” Abby asked. “We’ll pool it together and bet on Gryffindor.”

            “Absolutely not!” Gabe shouted. “That’s insane.”

            Asher nodded. “Now that I agree with.”

            Liz shot him a glare.

            “Is it really that crazy?” Abby asked. “Gabe’s going to win for them.”

            Gabe sighed. “Firstly there’re the rules you’d be breaking. Then there’s the fact that we know nothing of the Slytherin team’s skill. And on top of that you’d be putting all the pressure on me in my first game!”

            Liz nodded. “It’s not really fair to Gabe.”

            Abby thought for a moment. “Gabe, you know your own ability don’t you?”

            Gabe hesitated.

            “Why are you constantly afraid and hiding when you know you’re so talented?”

            “I am _not_ hiding! I just don’t want extra pressure on top of my whole House pushing me to win.”

            “No… it’s not just that is it? There’s something else,” Abby stood and walked up to Gabe.

            “What are you doing?” Gabe asked as Abby looked him over carefully.

            Abby thought carefully to herself. She had been friends with Gabe for almost two months and she had only just begun to unravel the secrets of his personality. Whereas Asher hid himself behind a carefully constructed wall, Gabe’s complexity was natural and thus much harder to read. Still, the pieces were there for Abby to see.

            “You really believe that it’s just luck don’t you?” Abby said finally.

            Gabe went red. “N-no I just…” he stammered.

            Abby shook her head and placed her hands on Gabe’s shoulders. “Your path is linked to mine and I can see the path to take. You’re not lucky and you’re going to win this match. I’m not betting on you because I think you _might_ win.”

            Gabe, Liz, and Asher all looked at Abby with wide eyes.

            Asher cleared his throat. “Abby, are you a Seer?”

            Abby turned to him but didn’t take her hands off Gabe. “I don’t know.”

            “I’d certainly believe it,” Liz said. “You’ve been pretty universally right since I’ve known you.”

            “She doesn’t make predictions very often. Perhaps it’s connected to the wand?” Asher said thoughtfully. “But if we’re going to bet on anything I’m willing to put faith in this sense Abby seems to have.”

            Abby smiled and turned back to Gabe. “Regardless of how I know, I know you’re going to win. Let us benefit from it and we can build some funds to fuel some more interesting endeavours.”

            Gabe sighed. “Abby, you’re going to be the death of me. If I mess this up-”

            “You won’t,” Abby interrupted. “Besides, you’ll have to win so you can see Liz in the finals.”

            Gabe looked over at Liz who laughed. “I won’t have any trouble beating her,” he said with a smirk.

            Liz’s smile vanished instantly. She jumped to her feet and grabbed Gabe, pushing Abby out of the way. “Say that again,” she narrowed her stare.

            “I won’t have any trouble beating you,” he said with a wink.

            Liz pushed him away and cross her arms. “Jerk.”

            “That’s the attitude I want to hear,” Abby said. “Better keep up, Liz. After all this we might have to bet on you next.”

            Liz went pink. “ _Me_?”

            “Well the Hufflepuff team in general. I’d certainly like to see the two of you in the finals.”

            “Speaking of I had better get a chance to win my galleons back when that time comes,” Asher said.

            “You’re going to bet against her knowing that she might be a Seer?” Liz asked.

            “Even Seers are wrong. Usually pretty often due to _overconfidence_ ,” Asher said with a coy smile.

            Abby chuckled. “We’ll just have to see when the time comes. For now, we have work to do.”

 

 

 

 

**Chapter 11**

**Coin Flip**

Over the next week Abby and her friends gathered together what money they had, adding up to a little fewer than twenty galleons. Liz had provided the most, though somewhat reluctantly, and Gabe had been unable to contribute, making him feel considerably worse about the whole situation. Before their double potions class on the Friday before Halloween, Abby and Gabe sat quietly eating breakfast in the Great Hall at the Gryffindor table. Abby was quietly reading her potions book while Gabe nervously tried not to draw the attention of the other Gryffindors.

            “Abby, I don’t think we should do this,” he said, breaking the silence.

            “I know you think that, you’ve been saying it for the last week,” she said without looking up from her book. “It’s just another week of waiting then it’ll all be behind you.”

            “Not only is this reckless, it could also get us in a lot of trouble.”

            “Actually only I’ll be at risk. I’m going to confront this Darius person in the Slytherin common room tonight and place the bet.”

            “How do you know he’ll even take the bet?”

            “It’ll be simple, just trust me,” Abby grinned and looked up from her book. “Gabe, try to calm down. This plan will work.”

            “Well hopefully you’re right. At this rate I think my nerves will ultimately be my undoing,” he said with a sigh.

            “You have the talent for this, there’s no reason to be so nervous.”

            “Do you know who the Slytherin seeker is? It’s him. He’s going to be the one I have to beat. He’s a _sixth_ _year_ , Abby!”

            “And when you beat him, you’ll be all the more loved by your House,” Abby finished her food and closed her book. “Let’s get to Potions, some brewing will help take your mind off of all this.”

 

***

 

            The day drifted by slowly. With Liz and Asher having their potions class in the afternoon, Abby and Gabe were left to spend most of the day together. While Gabe’s mind continued to drift towards the looming match, Abby persisted in her stance of complete confidence. When it finally came time to part ways after dinner, Abby set up with her books in the Slytherin common room to work on homework while she waited for Darius to show up.

            “What are you doing in the common room?” a voice asked suddenly.

            Abby looked up to see Iranole standing uncomfortably nearby. “Oh, good evening Iranole. How are you?”

            She looked to the side. “I’m fine.”

            “You’re welcome to sit with me if you’d like,” Abby said, seeing through the lie.

            Iranole sat down quietly in a chair opposite Abby. “What are you working on?”

            “Astronomy homework.”

            “Don’t you usually do your work with your friends?”

            “I’m waiting for someone,” Abby said plainly.

            This sparked Iranole’s curiosity. “Who?”

            “That’s not important.” Abby wanted to ask Iranole why she was there alone, but deep down she already kind of knew. “So Beckett and Olivia finally just left you behind?” she asked bluntly.

            Iranole flushed red. “I… um… yes. Beckett said he didn’t want me following them around anymore…”

            “Have you considered joining a club or something?”

            Iranole shook her head. “I tried out for the Quidditch team but they laughed at me. I got flustered and could barely hold onto the ball.”

            “So you’re a chaser?” Abby asked, setting aside her homework.

“Well, not yet unfortunately. One day I want to be though. I heard your friends both got onto their house teams.”

            “Not before Liz ended up in the Hospital Wing,” Abby chuckled. “Gabe’s a natural though.”

            “He’s the Gryffindor seeker right?” her face went a little redder. “He’s pretty good.”

            Abby raised an eyebrow. “How do you know that?”

            “I’ve… been watching the Gryffindor team practices. I thought maybe if I reported on them for the Slytherin team they’d look at me a little differently, but in the end I couldn’t do it. Now I just watch them. I don’t really have anything else to do now anyway…”

            “Give it time, Iranole. You’ll find your place,” Abby said with a warm smile. “Forget about Olivia and Beckett, they’re not worth your time.”

            Iranole smiled a little sadly. “You’re right. Thank you.” As she said this, Darius walked into the common room and saw them talking. He walked through the common room with a cocky stride.

            “There’s the person I was waiting for,” Abby said.

            “You’re waiting for _him_?” Iranole looked disgusted. “Don’t let me take up more of your time then…” She stood up and walked up to the dormitories without another word.

            Abby sighed. She’d have to make it up to Iranole at some point. Right now though, she had business to take care of. “Darius!” she called, waving the tall boy over.

            He raised an eyebrow and walked over to Abby. “Aren’t you that first-year that spends her time with other Houses?” his stare was cold and his expression vicious.

            “That’s me,” Abby answered with a smile. “I wanted to talk to you.”

            “If you want onto the Quidditch team you can forget about it you traitor. You might be really good at earning points for Slytherin but-”

            “Let me stop you there,” Abby interrupted. “I want no such thing. I know that you’re the seeker of the Slytherin team and I know that this upcoming match means a lot to you. I’m sure an experienced seeker like you would have no issue handling my friend Gabe on the pitch.”

            Darius grinned. “Ah, so you _are_ friends with their new seeker. I’ve been following his training a little. He’s nothing.”

            “Would you like to bet on that?” Abby asked as her smile widened.

            “You want to bet on the match?” His eyebrows both shot up. “That’s some faith you have in your friend.”

            “I have plenty of reasons for wanting to bet. You seemed just the person to talk to for this sort of thing. After all, why wouldn’t you want to take this bet? I won’t even bother with odds even though he’s clearly less experienced. Someone as skilled as you should be more than confident with such a bet,” Abby watched every muscle in Darius’ face move as he thought. “Twenty galleons on Gryffindor to win, even odds.”

            Darius smiled. “How do I know you’ve got it?”

            Abby reached into her robe and tossed a bag of coins onto the table.

            Darius laughed. “I will happily take your money.”

            “And if I win, I want to be clear that if you _don’t_ pay, or you happen to not have the money, I’ll go right to your father on the Board of Directors,” Abby said, keeping her face as unreadable as possible.

            Darius’ smile vanished. “Fine, you have my word. Not like it matters.”

            Abby held out her hand to shake. Darius reached out and took it a little reluctantly.

 

***

 

            With the pieces set in motion the next eight days flew by almost instantly. Even with the feast on Halloween and the following week of classes, all the four could think of was the match on the coming Saturday. Gabe’s nerves showed more and more as the week continued. He would return from practice shaking, and would demand that Liz train with him even more. He had begun to take it so seriously that his friends had to stop him so he could rest the day before his match.

            Then came the day at last. At breakfast, all four sat at the Gryffindor table trying desperately to get Gabe to eat.

            “I’m going to throw up if I eat something,” he protested. “If not now, then when I’m in the middle of the game.”

            “Doesn’t matter,” Liz said shoving a piece of toast towards him. “Eat.”

            Gabe frowned and took a bite of the buttered toast, mumbling something under his breath.

            Abby grinned and looked over at the Slytherin table. She caught the eye of Darius as he sat amongst his team, confidently talking them up. “I think his overconfidence alone will be his undoing.”

            “Hello there, Abby and friends,” a voice said from behind them. All four turned to see Proxis standing behind them with a welcoming smile. “Gabe, I wanted to wish you luck in your game against Slytherin today. I saw how nervous you were in Transfiguration so I thought I would bring you a little something for luck.” He reached into his robe and produced a bottle of butterbeer.

            Gabe took the bottle and looked at it curiously. “How is this supposed to make me feel better? If anything this looks like it’ll make me sicker…”

            Proxis smiled. “Just take a deep breath and trust me on this. I’m sure it’ll bring out the best in you,” he said, catching Abby’s eye for just a moment.

            Did Proxis know about the bet? Abby’s mind raced as she tried to read this unreadable man. There was nothing obviously malevolent in his actions, unless he actually was trying to make Gabe sick.

            “Well, I should get back to my breakfast. Good luck out there Gabe,” he said with a knowing smile.

            Gabe looked at the bottle of butterbeer. With a defeated shrug he popped the cap off and began to drink.             Abby watched as his face seemed to brighten up. As he finished the bottle, he set it down and looked around with bright eyes. “Oh wow, he was right. I feel way better!”

            “Think you can do this?” Liz asked.

            Gabe stood confidently. “I’ve got this covered. I’m going to meet up with the team. You all just enjoy the game. See you on the other side.”

 

***

 

            Abby, Liz, and Asher all took their seats in the stands around the pitch as the two teams walked out from their dressing rooms. Liz couldn’t keep still and Asher was uncomfortably still. Abby was the only one that was able to remain calm in any way.

            It was a bright and sunny day as the two teams prepared themselves below the stands. “Good morning everyone on this lovely day for Quidditch,” came a voice from the teacher’s seats. It was Proxis and he had taken the role of announcer. He introduced both teams as they all readied themselves. “It looks like we’re ready to begin. The snitch has been released and they’re off!”

            Abby watched intently as the teams shot into the air. She followed Gabe closely as he shot around the pitch looking for that tiny golden ball.

            “And Slytherin scores! 10-0 Slytherin,” came Proxis’ voice. The Slytherin stands cheered. “With their new seeker the Gryffindor team will really have their work cut out for them… and Slytherin scores again! 20-0 Slytherin.”

            The cheers transformed into jeers directed at the Gryffindor team. Abby watched as the Gryffindor team began to clumsily stumble in their plays. Liz’s brother’s inferiority as a captain showed clearly as he failed to direct his team and bring them back into the game.

            Before they knew it, Slytherin was up fifty points and Gryffindor hadn’t scored once. The Slytherin stands were a constantly barrage of jeering calls.

            “This looks bad,” Asher said.

            Abby shook her head. “Just wait…”

            She focused on Gabe who was completely in his own world. Not only was he managing to fly better than most of his team, he was also dodging bludgers constantly as the Slytherin team devoted most of their focus to removing him from the game.

            “Another narrow dodge by Riley there! He’s proving himself a capable flier, but let’s see what he can do when he sees the snitch,” called Proxis’ voice. “And Slytherin scores again brining the score to 60-0.”

            Liz buried her face in her hands. “I can’t watch,” she said quietly.

            Then it happened. Darius saw the snitch, and Gabe saw him dart towards it.

            “It looks like they’ve seen the snitch!” called Proxis.

            The crowd became focused as Gabe quickly shot up behind Darius and eventually came up to his side. Darius turned to Gabe and grinned. He rocked slightly to the side, and prepared to smash Gabe with his shoulder. Gabe, however, seemed to notice the slight motion and just before Darius made his move, Gabe slowed rapidly and Darius missed him completely, sending him flying awkwardly off course. Gabe then turned his attention to the snitch in the moment he bought and shot upwards towards it. With one swift motion of his arm, he reached up and caught the tiny golden ball in his glove and held it above his head.

            “And he’s got the snitch! Gryffindor wins 150-60!” Proxis announced. The Gryffindor stands erupted in cheers, as did Liz.

            Abby smiled and looked at Asher. “I told you he’d pull it off.”

 

***

 

            Outside the Slytherin locker room Abby waited for Darius. Every member of the team left before him, and he remained in the locker room for several minutes after they left. Eventually he marched out of the locker room, defeated and furious. There Abby waited with her confident smirk.

            He saw her and his face turned to complete disgust. “Came to collect?”

            “A bet’s a bet,” Abby said with a smile.

            He reached into his robe and pulled out a bag of coins. He threw it over and she caught it easily. “Don’t think I don’t know that kid cheated.”

            “And how’s that?”

            “At the last moment, he _knew_ I was going to hit him.”

            “Maybe he’s just smarter than you,” Abby said with a grin.

            Darius walked up and stood right in front of Abby. He towered over her but she didn’t even break her expression. “Or maybe you knew something I didn’t.”

            “If you’d like we can go double or nothing when you play Hufflepuff after the holidays,” Abby said with a dismissive wave. “I’d love to watch another one of my friends defeat you _and_ take more of your money.”

            Darius spat on the ground and stormed off without another word.

 

 

**Chapter 12**

**The Lost Manor**

 

            Towards the end of November Abby received another letter from her godfather. He had prepared everything for their trip over Christmas and would pick her up from Hogsmeade the day before the holidays began. With their gambling victory, Abby and her friends began to think of creative ways to reinvest their winnings, ultimately resolving to each return from holidays with their own idea.

            The rest of the semester drifted by without notice. Liz helped the Hufflepuff team crush the Ravenclaw team when their match came up putting them in first for the Quidditch Cup. It was beginning to look like Gabe and Liz would ultimately come to face each other at the end of the year and their rivalry was growing fiercer. By the time the holidays rolled around, Abby and Asher were confidently at the top of their year and Gabe and Liz had become notorious in their Houses.

            Finally the day came and the semester was over. Abby bid farewell to her friends, comfortable in the thought of writing to them and seeing them again come New Year’s. Proxis agreed to accompany her to the village so the two set off down the snowy road.

            When they finally came to Hogsmeade, they found Claudius waiting for them by the side of the road. He broke into a wide grin and shook Proxis’ hand firmly. “Good to see you again, my friend. How’s the teacher life?”

            “It is certainly different,” Proxis replied with a knowing smile. “I do miss the freedom of previous professions though.”

            Claudius laughed but Abby just looked at him curiously. Abby walked over to Claudius and stood beside him. “How was your first term, Abby?” He gave her a hug.

            “It was fun.”

            Claudius chuckled. “I’m sure you have lots of good stories for the road. We have to get going, we have a portkey to catch. I will see you in the New Year, Lysander. Oh, and look out for your Christmas present. I’ll mail it at some point.”

            Proxis waved as Claudius led Abby away. They set off quickly for the Hog’s Head pub.

            “When’s our portkey leave?” Abby asked.

            “Ten minutes. We’re going direct to Moldova.”

            Abby raised an eyebrow. “Where?”

            “Moldova, it’s a lovely little Eastern European country with a fantastic Quidditch team this year. It’s looking like they might even make the finals.”

            “I’m sure Liz and Gabe would both love to see that.”

            “Well I was already planning on getting your father tickets. I could get us all tickets to the cup when it’s announced.”

            “Alright, get three for my friends then.”

            Claudius smiled and lightly punched Abby in the arm. “Good job. I knew you’d be fine out there. Your dad worries too much. You’ve got your mom’s confidence.”

            “How come you and dad never talk about mom?”

            Claudius smiled sadly. “Now isn’t the time for that story. I promise you will know before the end of the holidays though. For now we should focus on the task at hand.”

            “So the clue you found led you to Moldova of all places?”

            “Clues. When you’re looking to do something secretly it’s good to do it somewhere that people won’t be looking. Eastern Europe is a great place to hide.” Claudius continued as they walked into the pub. The bartender nodded to Claudius as he walked in and Claudius returned the gesture. The two sat down at a table with an old metal coat hanger on it. Claudius checked his watch. “Plenty of time.”

            “So what did you find out?” Abby asked excitedly.

            “Well there was a village in an old forest that vanished one day while Voldemort was in power during the War. The general theory is that the town was hiding and had elected a secret keeper to hide the town. It’s a complex bit of magic but if it’s connected to your wand I’d believe it. No one knows what happened to the town, so it’s thought that it was wiped out. I did some digging, I had to call in some real old favours, and I found this.” He reached into his robe and he pulled out a worn piece of parchment.

            Abby took it and read it. It was just a name, “ _Aldero,_ ” a quick instruction of “ _In case we vanish_ ,” and a set of numbers.

            “I don’t get it,” Abby said looking at the numbers.

            “Those are coordinates, Muggles use them. I had one of my squib connections find it for me and it’s just outside the town of Bahmut in Moldova. We’re going to an area nearby the coordinates with some muggle navigation equipment. If I’m right the secret keeper wrote this for someone to recover in case whatever was going on went wrong. We should be able to enter the town and start looking for clues.”

            “Sounds exciting.”

            “Have you learned lots of spells?”

            “I think I’ve got a good set.”

            “I’m sure you’ll have my back.”

            “How’re we getting back once we’re done?”

            “We’ll apparate to my friend’s place in Chisinau, ask about World Cup tickets if they make it to the finals, then we’ll arrange a portkey back home. Alternatively we could travel like muggles if you fancy an adventure.”

            “Let’s decide when we’re done with the first adventure.”

            “Speaking of, it seems we should get ready,” Claudius checked his watch one more time then grabbed hold of the portkey. Abby did the same and shortly after the world fell away and they were spiralling into nothingness. Then suddenly the ground appeared below them and they were in a dense, dark forest. Abby stumbled forward but caught herself before falling into the thin layer of snow.

            Claudius quickly assessed their location. “ _Homenum Revelio,_ ” he looked at his wand. “We’re alone.”

            Abby gathered herself and looked around. The forest was thick enough that most of the daylight was blocked out even in the middle of winter. It might have even been enchanted slightly. There were certainly no clear signs of humans anywhere nearby. Oddly there didn’t seem to be any animals either. It was eerily quiet, with the only sound being Claudius’ slow foot movements. Abby turned to see him fiddling with a compass and map.

            “How are we going to find it using those?”

            Claudius set the map down on a log and set the compass beside it. He tapped the compass with his wand, then tapped the map. “Point me absolutely.” A small needle appeared on the map as though drawn elegantly in ink.

            “There’s a spell for that?” Abby asked looking at the map.

            “It’s my personal take on a classic spell. Now…” he looked carefully at the map and found a mark slightly northeast of them. “That’s our way in.”

            Abby nodded and the two set off through the woods. Slowly their mark moved across the map until they finally came to the location Claudius had marked. “Look for something out of the ordinary,” Claudius instructed as he began examining nearby trees.

            “Do we maybe need a key?”

            “I doubt it. The Fidelius Charm should have been enough.” He reached a particularly misshapen tree. He reached up and pressed a small knot on the tree. An illusion shifted and the image of massive iron gates righted itself in reality. This particular location was not another place in the forest but was rather directly outside the rusted gates of a tiny village that sat in a clearing. Claudius pushed the gate open slowly, the harsh screech of rusted hinges filling the silent air.

            Abby looked around as the two walked into the centre of the tiny village. In the square there stood a modest statue of a cloaked wizard. The nameplate was blank. All the houses looked condemned except for the largest building. It stood at the far side of the clearing with its back to the woods. It was a large European style house, though it was made to look larger by the small crumbling buildings around it. It had been painted white at some point, but now it was largely just covered in peeling paint and snow. The two inevitably found themselves drifting towards the large and mysterious building. It seemed considerably better built than the surrounding buildings; as though they had been constructed around it much later. They walked up the stairs and onto the front porch. Somehow the windows were still all intact and everything seemed quite in reasonable condition considering the rest of the town.

            “You notice it too, don’t you Abby?” Claudius asked.

            “Yeah, this house is way better kept than the rest of this place.”

            “Only one way to find out why.” Claudius pointed his wand at the door. “ _Alohamora_.” The locked clicked open and he led them into the manner.

            “ _THIEVES!_ ” In a sudden flash of shabby rags a tiny voice shrieked and landed on Claudius’ head. The elf quick started beating on his head with tiny fists.

            Abby grabbed her wand and pointed it at the furious scramble that used to be her godfather’s head. “ _Expelliarmus!_ ” A jet of light shot from her wand and collided with the mess, sending the attacker spinning sideways onto the ground.

            Claudius quickly pointed his wand at the elf. “We’re not thieves,” he insisted.

            “Then why are you here?” she squeaked, pointing at him.

            “We came to find out what happened here,” Abby said calmly. “We’re trying to find out about my wand.”

            The elf looked up at Abby. She was fairly young looking for a house elf with big clear eyes, pointy bay ears, and a reasonably clean rag that covered her whole body. “Wand you say?”

            Abby nodded and held out her wand. The elf looked at it with wide eyes. “Penny has seen this wand before.”

            “Wait, you know about this wand?” Claudius asked.

            The elf nodded. “Master knew about it.”

            “Where is he?” Claudius asked calmly.

            The elf covered her eyes and turned away shaking her head.

            “Can you tell us a little bit about this place at least?”

            She looked up with her big clear eyes and gave a small nod. “Penny can do that.”

            “Is there somewhere we can sit and talk?”

            Penny led them into the sitting room. She pointed her finger at two large chairs and a thick coating of dust seemed to evaporate. Abby and Claudius sat on the musty old chairs.

            “What is this place?” Claudius asked looking around the elegant room. It wasn’t decorated and the walls were simple beige. There were a few bookshelves with unmarked books on them.

            “It is a secret place where my master worked.”

            “What did he do?”

            “He was a wandmaker, sir.”

            Abby and Claudius exchanged excited looks. Claudius gestured to Abby. “Did your master make her wand?”

            Penny shook her head violently. “No no no _they_ carried that wand.”

            “Who are ‘ _they_?’”

            “The men with skull marks on their arms. They had that wand, they wanted to know what it was. They brought it to my master. When he couldn’t help them they attacked him.”

            Claudius looked sadly at Penny. “I’m so sorry. The Dark Lord’s followers were truly terrible people.”

            “Yes, sir, and my master disposed of those terrible men easily!” Penny declared proudly. “With his proudest creation!”

            “What would that be?”

            “That is a secret, sir.”

            “Well if your master is gone, perhaps he wanted his secrets to go on to serve a better use?”

            Penny shook her head. “He said to never let anyone but ‘ _the invisible_ ’ know.”

            Claudius paused. He looked at Abby. “Aurora was right again…”

            Penny jumped at the name. “Sir knows Lady Aurora!”

            Abby looked quickly between the two. “What are you two talking about? What does my mom have to do with any of this?”

            Penny ran up and bowed to Abby. “Young miss is Lady Aurora’s daughter!”

            Claudius stood up. “I know you have questions, Abby, but there’s something here we need to find. When we return home I will explain everything. Where’s his creation? We need to keep it safe.”

            Penny thought for a moment. “Master would have trusted the daughter of Lady Aurora. Follow me upstairs.”

            The three trekked up the creaky staircase. The dimming twilight was now painting the landscape a rich golden orange. Penny led them into a small study with a single dusty writing desk. Claudius walked into the room and looked around. The bookshelves had been completely stripped clean. The only book that remained was a single crimson notebook in the exact centre of the desk. He also noticed a small, thin drawer directly below it. Penny walked up and held up her fingers. A small golden key appeared between her long fingers and she hopped up onto the seat to unlock the drawer. With a tiny click she slid the drawer open to reveal a long wooden box. She picked it up and presented it to Claudius.

            He took it and slid the lid off carefully to reveal a jagged and knotted wand. “This was his creation?”

            “Yes sir. Master spent four long years trying to create that wand.”

            “What happened to him?”

            Penny shuddered. “He was _taken_ by the shadows.”

            Claudius and Abby exchanged worried glances. Claudius looked around the room. “What do you mean by that?”

            “Master and the town were attacked by the shadows. Penny doesn’t know where they came from. Penny must hide when the sun goes down. They still feed in the forest.”

            Claudius’s eyes widened. “This is bad. It sounds like this town was attacked by lethifolds.”

            Abby thought back to her textbooks. “I really wish I remember what those were,” she said finally.

            “They’re a living shroud. They consume living things and then vanish into the dark. Silent and very dangerous. Also very hard to kill and ward off.”

            “Penny must get to her hiding place. It is almost night.”

            “Wait, I have an offer,” Claudius said. “Your master died and his home wasn’t willed to anyone. You promised him to protect this wand and now you have. You’re free to find a new master right?”

            Penny thought for a moment but said nothing.

            “Would you like to work for me?” Claudius offered. “Not as a servant but as an employee. I’ve been wanting an assistant for a while now.”

            Penny looked up curiously. “But Master never freed Penny.”

            “But since he’s dead doesn’t that mean you just belong with this house now?”

            Penny thought. “Yes.”

            “Your master’s name was Aldero, correct?”

            Penny nodded.

            “My name is Claudius. I was an acquaintance of your master’s.” Claudius reached into his robe and withdrew an old photo. A youthful Claudius stood next to a man that looked roughly his age grinning proudly. “He wouldn’t have left a will which means what he left here is unclaimed. So this house now belongs to me,” Claudius said with a grin. “That means you’re now my servant.” He took off one of his gloves and gave it to Penny. “And now you’re free. What do you say? I’ll pay you a good wage.”

            Penny beamed at Claudius. “Penny will happily serve Master and Lady Abby.”

            “Good then you’re coming with us. We just need to clear the boundary and we can apparate to my friend’s home.”

            Penny nodded. “Penny cannot apparate within the barrier, but Penny can take you both to the boundary.”

            Claudius looked out the window of the study at the last bits of daylight trickling through. “If I’m right and it is lethifolds we’ll need to move slowly and carefully. They might not be able to get me, but they could catch up on either of you if we’re taken by surprise. We need to see them coming.” He led them down the stairs and to the front door. “As soon as I open this door I want both of you to face behind us and keep watch. If either of you sees movement, shout. Abby, most spells won’t work on them and you won’t be able to conjure a patronus so I need you to direct me instead.”

            Abby nodded with a look of fierce determination.

            Claudius opened the door and the three quickly began to move in a triangle formation across the town. Claudius looked around quickly and pointed around with his wand, creating large floating lights. “Any shadow movement is a concern, be prepared,” he instructed carefully.

            The three continued at a steady pace until, “Here!” Abby shouted.

            Claudius spun around and saw it slide out from behind a wall, casting a long shadow. It slid up elegantly into the air and hung like a black cloak, illuminated only by Claudius’ lights. “ _Flagrate_!” he shouted as he quickly drew a flaming cage in the air around them. The lethifolds touched the flaming lines and slid backwards in the air. Claudius swiped quickly with his wand, making the flames vanish, then pointed his wand directly at the lethifold’s centre. “ _Expecto Patronum_!” A silver fox shot from his wand and struck the creature in the centre of its form, sending it reeling backwards.

            “There’s more!” Penny shrieked.

            Claudius turned and saw two more sliding out from behind the statue. He pointed with his wand the fox dashed into one, then leapt to the other and pinned it to the ground. “Run for the boundary!”

            Abby and Penny both ran as the lethifolds reeled and Claudius commanded his patronus back to him. As the strange creatures retreated, Claudius ran to the boundary and ran through the gates. Penny touched the knot and the space seemed to vanish behind them.

            “Good job,” all three turned to see a man appear from nothing, leaning on the side of a tree. It was the man Abby had seen in Proxis’ office months ago and he had his wand drawn, though it wasn’t pointed at anything in particular. He was looking casually at Claudius with his oddly pointed face. “Didn’t expect to find you here.”

            “What are you doing here?” Claudius asked in a calm and even voice.

            “I could ask you the same thing. Pay respect to an old friend and take his property?”

            “He’s dead, no will, it’s up for grabs. Most of it’s taken anyway.”

            “Yeah but you took his elf.”

            “I freed and hired his elf, thank you.”

            The man smiled. “When I came here after following your paper trail I certainly didn’t expect you to be the one I was looking for. You’ve been digging around. Tracing back old ministry records and calling in favours. You’re walking awfully close to a spotlight I don’t think you want to be in.”

            Claudius shrugged. “I did nothing wrong. I was looking for records of where a particular item I came to purchase came from. If anything I’m trying to help them.”

            “It’s not what you’re _doing_. It’s what you _are_. You really want their attention? You want to go under the magnifying glass?”

            “It’s under control.”

            “You won’t think so when you get home. Be thankful I came out here, idiot,” the man looked at Abby. “Is that Aurora’s girl?”

            “Yeah that’s Abby.”

            The man turned away. “Have you already involved her?”

            “No, but that will soon change.”

            He shook his head. “Have a happy Christmas. Good luck with the Ministry.” He disapparated with a loud crack.

            “Who was that?” Abby asked immediately.

            Claudius shook his head. “Now isn’t the time. I’ll tell you when I tell you the rest. He did us a great favour. Let’s get to my friend’s and get an alibi ready.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Chapter 13**

**The Invisible**

 

            Abby, Penny, and Claudius appeared with a pop in the centre of Claudius’ store holding a piece of pipe. Penny immediately began to run around curiously examining the various items.

            “Okay Abby, where were we?” Claudius asked.

            “We were in Moldova getting World Cup tickets from your friend,” Abby replied with a smile. “What about Penny?”

            “I can explain her easily later. But those two portkeys I applied for are another story. Your dad might be more upset than I originally anticipated if the ministry is eyeing me again.”

            As they were talking, the front door of Claudius’ shop burst open and Abby’s father stormed in. His face was livid and it looked like he was holding back the urge to draw his wand.

            “You…” he began.

            Claudius held up his hands. “Calm down. There’s been a misunderstanding.”

            “ _Three_ departments your name has come up in over the last two days. They’ve got Aurors wanting to question you. What the _hell_ did you do _this time_?”

            “Dad we were just in Moldova getting World Cup tickets. Oddball wanted to bring me along,” Abby said rather desperately.

            “That doesn’t excuse what he’s been up to! You’ve been having old files pulled from years ago. Files from the war. I even heard a rumour that you called in a favour in the Department of Mysteries.”

            “I did,” Claudius said with a casual smile. “I’m looking into a few older items I have in my store room. I do keep quite a good record despite what I may say to the authorities.”

            Noah took a deep breath. “You know exactly why I don’t believe you. This is something to do with Aurora isn’t it!?”

            Claudius shook his head sadly. “If you must know, we’re looking into Abby’s wand’s origin. And we were getting World Cup tickets.”

            Noah stepped back. “Oh… I’m sorry.”

            “What’s going on with mom?” Abby asked again. “We’re home; I think I’m owed an explanation.”

            “Firstly, Penny!” Claudius called. Penny ran over. He handed her the wand case they had taken from their trip. “Go find a good place to hide this.”

            “Yes sir,” Penny ran off happily.

            “And you have a house elf now?” Noah asked.

            “That’s kind of connected to the explanation I owe Abby,” Claudius said. He turned to Abby and smiled gently. “This world is a complicated place, kid.”

            Noah waved his wand and conjured a chair for Abby and himself. Abby hopped up beside him and looked up at Claudius expectantly.

            Claudius thought carefully for several moments as though lost in trying to find the right words. “So around the time wizards started really organizing themselves into proper forms of government there came to be a small group of people that didn’t really like the idea of listening to others,” he said finally. “A lot of them were criminals that just wanted to be above the law, but some just wanted true freedom.”

            “You’re still, by literal definition, a criminal,” Abby’s father said from his seat.

            Claudius shot him a look but simply continued. “They came to be the predecessors to our craft. They hid themselves from sight with charms and enchantments. They hushed their movements and spells. They learned to alter memories to better suit their ends. We call ourselves ‘The Invisible.’ We are the witches and wizards capable of vanishing completely from the ‘real’ world. We are seen only when we want to be. We go by aliases created to hide our identities. Claudius Oddsmen is an alias I made when I opened this shop for Proxis.”

            “Is Proxis an Invisible too?” Abby asked.

            “Yes. He, your mother, myself, and the man we met in the forest, Reiner, all used to work together on whatever curiosity struck us. Most Invisibles have something they devote themselves to. The home we visited for example belonged to Aldero, an Invisible wandmaker. But the four of us were more like magical vagabonds. We always were, ever since the Trace broke on your mom and me. We met up with Proxis and Reiner when we went looking for more Invisibles. Both of us had a parent that was one so we knew how to find them. Together the four of us travelled and studied magic. We all have our magical gifts. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, Proxis is astounding when it comes to transfiguration. Reiner magically understands fire in a way I have never seen in anyone else. I am a Legillimens to rival Voldemort himself. And your mother’s eyes saw divination in a way no one else seemed to. She wasn’t exactly a Seer, she just understood the signs.”

            “Aurora told me that most of your ‘studying’ was just fooling around with very advanced magic. Doing often extremely dangerous things just for fun.”

            Claudius grinned. “Well we do a lot of it for our own enjoyment. After all, the whole point of absolute freedom is to have fun with it. Why even bother being an Invisible if you’re just going to get married and have a kid anyway…”

            “Don’t you dare make this about her choices!” Noah stood up. “You and that asshole, Reiner.”

            “Reiner saved mine and Aurora’s lives multiple times.”

            “How many of those times were because of a danger _he_ caused.”

            “Less than half. Let me finish Aurora’s story, she wanted me to tell Abby when the time came. When I’m done with the story, then we can discuss our current feelings towards each other on the subject of Aurora.”

            Abby shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “What happened?”

            Claudius sighed and her father looked at her with tired eyes. Claudius was the one that managed to say it first. “You happened, Abby. But that’s still a ways away from where I left off. I mentioned my Legillimancy earlier because I was forced to test it on one unfortunate occasion. You see, Abby, when the first war rolled around Invisibles started taking sides. The unfortunate reality is that when Voldemort knew we existed he could tell his forces how to look for us. It’s a lot harder to be invisible when someone’s looking directly at you. We were all still fairly young at the time. Reiner went underground and Proxis made this street to hide in. I, unfortunately, came to find myself face to face with the Dark Lord himself. I know a lot more Invisibles than the average one of us. He wanted to know and I didn’t want to tell him. I also found out that I was a better Occlumens than him because I learned about some of his secrets in our little mental duel. In learning I could never kill him I fled. I went to Aurora to tell her to hide but he fell only weeks later.

            “We had our world back. It was a great place again and it was finally starting to feel peaceful. Then a little under fifteen years passed and the Dark Lord rose again. This time we vanished immediately. The other Invisibles unfortunately joined both sides this time though. We knew that Voldemort would want more information about the prophecy surrounding him. Knowing this, Aurora hid, knowing the power that prophecy, if properly understood, could hold. That’s of course where she met your father.”

            Abby looked at her father. He was looking away from Claudius, and she saw just the slightest tear in his eye.

            Claudius looked at him and smiled sadly. “When the second war began I remember coming to meet you for the first time, Noah. I remember telling you about the horrible world that had come to be. How we put our hope in that Potter kid. I admit I was surprised when he won. When I came to deliver the news it was like a new dawn had broken over our world. Abby, you were born earlier that year and it was the first time I met you. Your mother insisted that we all return here together and help rebuild after the war.”

            “I couldn’t say no to her,” Abby’s father said quietly.

            “But it was a wonderful time. I of course still wanted to return to our exploits as Invisibles, but she was only interested in your family. She insisted I be your godfather and be part of your life, so I’ve managed this shop for Proxis to always be close to your family. Then, five years ago, Aurora was murdered by an Invisible. We’re still not sure why, but I’m starting to find some clues. It seems your wand may be connected, and this could go back a long time. If Aldero defeated those Death Eaters that came looking for him then he wouldn’t have just let them leave with the wand. Penny could you come in here?”

            Penny poked her head out from the back room. “Yes Master?”

            “You said Aldero defeated those Death Eaters that showed up, correct?”

            Penny nodded.

            “What did he do after?”

            “Master threw them out. He looked at the wand but it was useless so he left it with them.”

            “But the wand works,” Claudius said.

            “Master could do no magic with it. Master said the core had died.” Abby pointed her wand and shot some silver sparks from it. Penny’s eyes widened. “But Master was never wrong about wands.”

            Claudius scratched his chin. “Then we’re on the trail but we’re not there yet. I’ll have to do some more research in the New Year.”

            Abby’s father stood up. “I think Abby’s still owed an explanation about our disagreements.”

            Claudius sighed and looked at Abby with no emotion in his face. “Your father thinks you should live like an ordinary witch. I think you should have the right to choose to be Invisible.”

            “That is _not_ the only aspect!” Abby’s father’s face flushed red. “Don’t you dare make me look like the villain! Aurora always said that Abby’s future was complex and difficult to read. She always said that she would prefer for her daughter to grow up away from the world of people like you.”

            “People like me?” Claudius glared. “What about people like _you_ , Noah? The content sheep that are more than happy to toe the line behind big impressive people like Potter and Granger! I live above _their_ world. I want to be free again.”

            “No one’s stopping you!”

            “Whoever killed Aurora is still likely out there, and they could very well want to kill Abby too.” The room fell silent.

            Abby looked around. She stood up from her chair. “So that’s what’s this is about. That’s why you keep me so protected. You know an Invisible is hunting me. Is it because of my mom?”

            “More than likely, yes,” Claudius said evenly. “They may not be hunting you though. There’s been no sign in five years. That doesn’t mean you should lower your guard though. Proxis and I both promised your mother that we would protect you.”

            “Is that why he’s teaching at Hogwarts?” Abby asked.

            “He said he has several reasons for wanting to teach for a while. McGonagall always was his favourite professor; I think he wanted to be her successor more than anything. No, he’s helped in many other ways over the years.”

            Abby nodded. “Thanks for telling me all this.”

            Her father frowned but Claudius smiled. “I knew you could handle hearing this.”

            “There is one more thing,” Abby’s father reached into his robe and pulled out a sealed letter. “It’s a summons to the Ministry to appear for questioning.” He handed the letter to Claudius. “If you want to keep looking into Abby’s wand, you should be prepared with some very good answers.”

 

_To be continued…_

 

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that the rate at which this series is released will be based largely on interest from both myself and readers. If you enjoyed this work please leave a comment.
> 
> This work is also trying to be as close to canon as possible without making any major modifications to the story between Deathly Hallows and Cursed Child. As this series continues, look forward to seeing plenty of returning characters from the books in their canonical roles as adults.
> 
> The story will continue in Part 2: Abigail Vanders and the Gold in the Flames.


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